LIFE 


OF 


MARTIN   E.  DELANY. 


LIFE 


PUBLIC   SERVICES 


MARTIN    R.  DELANY, 


SUB-ASSISTANT  COMMISSIONER  BUREAU  RELIEF  OF  REFUGEES, 

FREEDMEN,  AND  OF  ABANDONED  LANDS,  AND  LATE 

MAJOR    104TH    U.  S.   COLORED   TROOPS. 


BY 


FRANK     A.    R  O  L  L  I  N. 


"  et  niger  arma  Memnonis.' 


BOSTON: 

3L.EJEJ       A.ND       S  H  El  IP  ^  R  D. 

1883. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

FRANK    A.  ROLLIN, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED    AT    THE 

BOSTON     STEREOTYPE    FOUNDRY, 

19  Spring  Lane. 

r 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction, 7 

I.     Genealogy, 13 

II.     Early  Education, 30 

III.  Studying  North, 38 

IV.  Moral  Efforts,       .         .         .         .         .         .         .43 

V.     Editorial  Career, 48 

VI.  Practising  Medicine,     .         .         .         .         ....      68 

VII.     Fugitive  Slave  Act, 73 

VIII.     A  Hiatus, 77 

IX.  Canada.  —  Captain  John  Brown,      .         .         .           83 

X.  Canada  Convention. — Harper's  Ferry,        .         .      91 

XI.     In  Europe, 96 

XII.  The  International  Statistical  Congress  and  Lord 

Brougham,     .......      99 

XIII.  Return  to  America,.        .   '     .        .        .        .        134 

XIV.  Corps  d'Afrique, 141 

XV.  A  Step  towards  the  Service,  ....         145 

XVI.     Recruiting  as  it  was, 151 

XVII.     Changing  Position, 155 

XVIII.  Private  Council  at  "Washington,    .         .         .         .162 

XIX.  The  Council-Chamber.  —  President  Lincoln,  .         166 

£X.  The  Gold  Leaf,    .         .         .         .         .         .         .176 


M81141 


6 


CONTENTS. 


XXI.     In  the  Field,          .        .        .        .        .        .  181 

XXII.     At  Charleston  and  Fort  Sumter,      .         .         .  189 

XXIII.  Arinee  d'Afrique,  .        .        .        .        .        .  200 

XXIV.  The  National  Calamity, 203 

XXV.     Camp  of  Instruction, 209 

XXVI.     Extraordinary  Messages, 214 

XXVII.     News  from  Richmond, 222 

XXVIII.     A  New  Field,     . 227 

XXIX.     General  Sickles, 245 

XXX.     Restoring  Domestic  Relations,  .         .         .254 

XXXI.     General  Robert  K.  Scott,     ....  259 

XXXII.     The  Planters  and  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,      .  2G9 

XXXIII.     Domestic  Economy, 272 

XXXIV.     Civil  Affairs.  —  President  Johnson,  .         .         .  277 

XXXV.     Educational  Interests, 285 

XXXVI.     Conclusion, 292 

APPENDIX. 

Political  Writings, 303 

African  Explorations, 306 

Reflections  on  the  War, 309 

The  International  Policy  of  the  World  towards  the  Afri- 
can Race, .313 

Political  Destiny  of  the  Colored  Race  on  the  American 

Continent, 327 


INTRODUCTION 


AT  the  close  of  every  revolution  in  a  country,  there 
is  observed  an  effort  for  the  gradual  and  general  ex- 
pulsion of  all  that  is  effete, or  tends  to  retard  progress; 
and  as  the  nation  comes  forth  from  its  purification  with 
its  existence  renewed  and  invigorated,  a  better  and 
higher  civilization  is  promised. 

Before  entering  upon  such  an  effort,  it  is  usual  to 
compute  the  aid  rendered  in  the  past  struggle  for 
national  existence,  and  the  present  status  of  the  auxil- 
iaries in  connection  with  it.  In  this  manner,  as  the 
sullen  roar  of  battle  ceases,  as  the  war  cloud  fades 
out  from  our  sky,  we  are  enabled  to  look  more  soberly 
upon  the  stupendous  revolution,  its  causes  and  teach- 
ings, and  to  consider  the  men  and  new  measures  de- 
veloped through  its  agency,  the  material  with  which 
the  country  is  to  be  reconstructed. 

In  reviewing  the  history  of  the  late  civil  war,  it 
will  be  found,  as  in  former  revolutions,  that  those  who 
were  able  to  master  its  magnitude  were  men  who, 

(7) 


INTRODUCTION. 

prior  to  the  occasion,  were  almost  wholly  unknown,  or 
claimed  but  a  local  reputation.  Measures  which  before 
were  deemed  impracticable  and  inexpedient,  in  the 
progress  of  the  war,  were  considered  best  adapted  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  time.  A  race  before  per- 
secuted, slandered,  and  brutalized,  ostracized,  socially 
and  politically,  have  scattered  the  false  theories  of  their 
enemies,  arid  proved  in  every  way  their  claim  and 
identity  to  American  citizenship  in  its  every  particular. 
While  the  war  between  sections  has  erased  slavery 
from  the  statutes  of  the  country,  it  has  in  nowise  oblit- 
erated the  inconsistent  prejudice  against  color.  Among 
the  white  Americans,  since  the  rebellion,  from  the 
highest  officer  to  the  lowest  subaltern,  there  is  a  re- 
cognized precedence  for  them,  in  view  of  their  patri- 
otism and  valor  in  the  hour  of  peril  and  treachery. 
They  recognized  their  duty  when  Southerners  had 
ignored  it:  for  this  we  honor  them;  and  none  would 
gainsay  an  atom  of  the  praise  bestowed  :  the  country 
had  always  honored  and  protected  them  at  home  and 
abroad,  and  in  enhancing  her  prestige,  they  have  added 
to  their  own  as  American  citizens.  But  in  the  same 
dark  hour  of  strife  and  treachery,  there  went  forth 
from  the  despised  and  dusky  sons  of  the  republic  a 
host,  who,  though  faring  differently,  contributed  no 
meagre  offering  to  the  cause  of  the  Union.  In  the  fore- 
most rank  of  battle  they  stood,  stimulated  alone  by 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

their  sublime  faith  in  the  future  of  their  country,  in- 
stead of  being  deterred  by  the  disheartening  experi- 
ences of  the  past.  From  their  first  hour  in  the  rebellion 
to  the  last,  theirs  was  a  fierce,  unequal  contest ;  they 
were  found  enlisting,  fighting,  and  even  dying  under 
circumstances  from  which  the  bravest  Saxon  would 
have  been  justified  in  shrinking.  For  them  there  was 
"  death  in  the  front  and  destruction  in  the  rear "  — 
torture  and  death  as  prisoners  in  the  rebel  lines,  and 
the  perils  of  the  mob  in  many  of  the  loyal  cities  await- 
ing them  when  seen  in  the  United  States  uniform. 
Despite  all  opposition,  they  have  traced  their  history 
in  characters  as  indestructible  as  they  are  brilliant,  to 
the  confusion  of  their  enemies.  On  every  field,  negro 
heroism  and  valor  have  been  proved  by  them  in  a 
manner  which  has  established  for  their  race  a  grandeur 
of  character  in  American  annals,  that,  when  read  by  the 
unprejudiced  eyes  of  futurity,  will  gleam  with  increased 
splendor  amid  their  unfavorable  surroundings;  while 
in  song  and  story  their  deeds  of  prowess  will  live  for- 
ever, reflecting  the  glories  of  Port  Hudson,  the  crim- 
son field  of  Olustee,  and  the  holy  memories  which 
cluster  about  Fort  Wagner. 

Of  an  army  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million 
men,  less  than  a  decade  received  promotion  for  their 
services.  Lieutenant  Stephen  A.  Swails,  of  Elmira, 
New  York,  a  member  of  the  Fifty-fourth  Massachu- 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

setts  Volunteers,  had  the  honor  of  being  first,  for 
having  signally  distinguished  himself  both  at  Wagner 
and  Olustee.  Later  followed  the  promotion  of  Lieu- 
tenants Dufree,  Shorter,  James  T.  Trotter,  and  Charles 
Mitchell,  from  the  Fifty-fifth  Massachusetts  Volunteers ; 
Lieutenants  Peter  Voglesang  (Quartermaster),  and 
Frank  Welch,  from  the  Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  Vol- 
unteers. Dr.  Alexander  Augusta,  of  Canada,  had  been 
previously  appointed  surgeon,  with  the  rank  of  major. 
Besides  these,  several  complimentary  promotions  were 
given  prior  to  the  muster  out  of  these  two  regiments. 
None  of  the  officers  above  named  have  been  retained 
in  the  service ;  one  alone  remains,  who,  during  the  re- 
bellion, had  attained  the  highest  commission  bestowed 
on  any  of  the  race  by  the  government  —  that  of  Major 
of  Infantry.  Him  whom  the  government  had  chosen 
for  this  position  we  have  made  the  subject  of  this 
work.  His  great  grasp  of  mind  and  fine  executive 
ability  eminently  befitted  him  for  the  sphere,  and  the 
success  which  attends  his  measures  renders  him  a  dis- 
tinct and  conspicuous  character  at  his  post.  His  career 
throughout  life  has  been  very  remarkable.  Prior  to 
his  present  appointment  his  name  was  familiar  with 
every  advance  movement  relative  to  the  colored  peo- 
ple :  once  it  fell  upon  the  ear  of  the  terror-stricken 
Virginians,  in  connection  with  John  Brown,  of  Osso- 
watomie;  and 'scarcely  had  it  been  forgotten  when  it 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

was  borne  back  to  us  from  the  Statistical  Congress  at 
London,  encircled  with  the  genius  of  Lord  Brougham. 
To  no  more  advantageous  surroundings  than  were  en- 
joyed by  the  masses  he  owes  his  successes;  hence  his 
achievements  may  be  safely  argued  as  indicative,  of  the 
capability  and  progress  of  the  race  whose  proud  repre- 
sentative he  is.  The  isolated  and  degraded  position 
assigned  the  colored  people  precluding  the  possibility 
of  gaining  distinction,  whenever  one  of  their  num- 
ber lifts  himself  by  the  strength  of  his  own  character 
beyond  the  prescribed  limits,  ethnologists  apologize  for 
this  violation  of  their  established  rules,  charging  it  to 
some  few  drops  of  Saxon  blood  commingling  with  the 
African.  But  in  the  case  of  the  individual  of  whom 
we  write,  he  stands  proudly  before  the  country  the 
blackest  of  the  black,  presenting  in  himself  a  giant's 
powers  warped  in  chains,  and  evidencing  in  his  splendid 
career  the  fallacy  of  the  old  partisan  theory  of  negro 
inferiority  and  degradation. 

In  this  history  will  be  noticed  certain  strong  char- 
acteristics peculiarly  his  own,  which  are  traceable  more 
to  the  circumstances  of  his  birth  than  his  race.  Aim- 
ing to  render  a  faithful  biography  of  this  remarkable 
man,  we  narrate  minutely  his  singularly  active  and 
eventful  life,  wThich,  in  view  of  the  narrow  limits  appor- 
tioned to  him,  will  bear  favorable  comparison  with  the 
great  Americans  of  our  time. 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  October  19th,  1868. 


LIFE  OF  MAJOR  1.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  ''I.'  l  ''      V  * 
GENEALOGY? *• : ' '  '* :     ••••*•••* 


IT  has  always  been  admitted  that  the  early  slaves 
of  America  were  the  vanquished  of  the  wars  waged 
among  rival  tribes  of  Africa.  Among  these  were 
kings,  chiefs,  and  their  families,  accustomed  to  state 
and  circumstance,  consigned  to  slavery  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  their  warfare.  From  these  early  slaves 
the  colored  people  of  the  United  States  are  descended ; 
and  some  of  these  captive  kings  and  princes,  it  natu- 
rally follows,  were  the  progenitors  of  some -of  the  col- 
ored people  of  this  continent.  Yet,  in  consequence  of 
the  condition  assigned  them  by  an  unholy  prejudice, 
the  mere  mention  of  a  claim  to  a  family  lineage,  by  one 
of  that  race,  is  treated  with  derision.  Despite  the  op- 
position, however,  there  are  Americans  who  not  only 
claim  a  regal  African  ancestry,  but  cling  to  it  with  a 
pride  worthy  of  a  citizen  of  Rome  in  her  palmiest  days. 
Regardless  of  the  gloom  of  barbarism  which  encircled 
their  ancestry,  knowing  that  the  race  which  now  stands 
at  the  zenith  of  its  power  suffered  like  disadvantages, 

(13) 


14  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

the  colored  people  cherish  this  proud  descent  with  all 
the  strong  feeling  so  characteristic  of  them.  Prom- 
inent among  them  in  this  pride  of  race  stands  the  sub- 
ject of  this  work. 

At  a  recent  session  of  Congress  an  interrogatory  was 
raised  by  a  member  of  that  honorable  body,  while  the 
suffrage  question  was  being  agitated  :  "  What  negro, 
either  ancient  or  modern,  has  risen  up  and  shown  his 
ciui.iLs  to  a  faral-y  lineage,  or  a  kingdom,  as  have 
done  other  men  through  all  times?  Or  where  is  the 
negro,  v'io,  by  tho  force  of  his  intellect,  and  might  of 
his  will  and  power,  has  attempted  to  bring  together  the 
scattered  petty  chiefdoms  south  of  the  Sahara  into 
one  grand  consolidated  kingdom?  Show  me  one  who 
has  attempted  any  of  these,  and  with  all  of  my  preju- 
dices, to  such  will  I  accord  honor."  This  will  tem- 
per the  criticism  to  which  we  render  ourselves  liable 
under  a  state  of  society  where  every  man  is  supposed 
to  stand  upon  the  strength  of  his  own  merit,  or  fall  for 
want  of  it,  and  where  family  titles  are  ignored,  by  be- 
ginning the  biography  of  a  colored  man  with  his 
ancestry,  instead  of  treating  directly  with  himself. 
Since  this  reference  to  ancestry  is  not  without  pre- 
cedent, as  the  histories  of  distinguished  Americans 
show,  there  can  be  no  violation  of  established  rules  for 
us  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  privilege,  not  in  imitation 
of  others,  but  rather  with  a  view  of  presenting  a  faith- 
ful portrait  of  one  representative  of  the  race,  known  to 
two  continents,  but  remarkable  in  the  history  of  our 
times  as  the  first  black  major  in  the  United  States 
service. 
\MAETIN  ROBISOIST  DELANY,  the  son  of  Samuel  and 


GENEALOGY.  15 

Pati  Delany,  was  born  at  Charlestown,  Virginia,  May 
6,  1812.  He  was  named  for  his  godfather,  a  colored 
Baptist  clergyman,  who,  it  appeared,  gave  nothing  be- 
yond his  name  to  his  godson. 

With  the  name  Delany,  a  peculiarity  illustrative 
of  the  man  himself  is  manifested.  Regarding  it  as  not 
legally  belonging  to  his  family  by  consanguinity,  and 
suspicious  of  its  having  been  borrowed  from  the  whites, 
as  was  the  custom  of  those  days,  he  expresses  himself 
always  as  though  it  was  distasteful  to  him,  recalling 
associations  of  the  servitude  of  his  family.  With  these 
associations  clinging  to  it,  his  pride  revolts  at  retaining 
that  which  he  believes  originated  with  the  oppressors 
of  his  ancestors ;  and  though  he  has  made  it  honorable 
in  other  lands  besides  our  own,  encircled  it  with  the 
glory  of  a  steadfast  adherence  to  freedom's  cause  in 
the  nation's  darkest  hours,  and  uncompromising  fidelity 
to  his  race,  thus  constituting  him.  one  of  the  brightest 
beacons  for  the  rising  generation,  he  eagerly  awaits  the 
opportunity  for  its  erasure. 

His  pride  of  birth  is  traceable  to  his  maternal  as  well 
as  to  his  paternal  grandfather,  native  Africans  —  on  the 
father's  side,  pure  Golah ;  on  the  mother's,  Mandingo. 

His  father's  father  was  a  chieftain,  captured  with  his 
family  in  war,  sold  to  the  slavers,  and  brought  to  Amer- 
ica. He  fled  at  one  time  from  Virginia,  where  he  was 
enslaved,  taking  with  him  his  wife  and  two  sons,  born 
to  him  on  this  continent,  and,  after  various  wanderings, 
reached  Little  York  —  as  Toronto,  Canada,  was  then 
called  —  unmolested.  But  even  there  he  was  pursued, 
and  "by  some  fiction  of  law,  international  policy,  old 
musty  treaty,  cozenly  understood,"  says  Major  Delany, 
he  was  brought  back  to  the  United  States. 


16  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

The  fallen  old  chief  afterwards  is  said  to  have  lost 
his  life  in  an  encounter  with  some  slaveholder,  who 
attempted  to  chastise  him  into  submission.. 

On  his  mother's  side  the  claim  receives  additional 
strength.  The  story  runs  that  her  father  was  an  Afri- 
can prince,  from  the  Niger  valley  regions  of  Central 
Africa;  was  captured  when  young,  during  hostilities 
between  the  Mandingoes,  Fellahtas,  and  Houssa,  sold, 
and  brought  to  America  at  the  same  time  with  his  be- 
trothed Graci. 

His  name  was  Shango,  surnamed  Peace,  from  that 
of  a  great  African  deity  of  protection,  which  is  repre- 
sented in  their  worship  as  a  ram's  head  with  the  attri- 
bute of  fire. 

The  form  and  attributes  of  this  deity  are  so  described 
as  to  render  it  probable  that  the  idol  Shango,  of  mod- 
ern Africa,  is  the  same  to  which  ancient  Egypt  paid 
divine  homage  under  the  name  of  Jupiter  Ammon. 
This  still  remaining  the  popular  deity  of  all  the  .region 
of  Central  Africa,  is  an  evidence  sufficient  in  itself  to 
prove  not  only  nativity,  but  descent.  For  in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws  of  the  people  of  that  region,  none 
took,  save  by  inheritance,  so  sacred  a  name  as  Shnngo, 
and  the  one  thus  named  was  entitled  to  the  chief  power. 
From  this  source  this  American  family  claim  their  an- 
cestry. 

Shango,  at  an  early  period  of  his  servitude  in  Amer- 
ica, regained  his  liberty,  and  returned  to  Africa. 

Whether  owing  to  the  fhct  that  the  slave  system 
was  not  so  thoroughly  established  then,  —  that  is,  had 
no  legal  existence, — or  the  early  slaveholders  had  not 
then  lost  their  claims  to  civilization,  it  was  recog- 


GENEALOGY.  17 

nized  among  themselves  that  no  African  of  noble  birth 
should  be  continued  enslaved,  proofs  of  his  claims 
being  adduced.  Thus,  by  virtue  of  his  birth,  Shango 
was  enabled  to  return  to  his  home.  His  wife,  Graci, 
was  afterwards  restored  to  freedom  by  the  same  means. 
She  remained  in  America,  and  died  at  the  age  of  one 
hundred  and  seven,  in  the  family. of  her  only  daughter, 
Pati,  the  mother  of  Major  Delany. 

These  facts  were  more  fully  authenticated  by  Major 
Delany  while  on  his  famous  exploring  tour,  of  which  we 
will  speak  hereafter.  While  he  travelled  from  Golah 
to  Central  Africa,  through  the  Niger  valley  regions, 
he  recognized  his  opportunity,  and  consulted,  among 
others,  as  he  travelled,  that  learned  native  author,  Agi, 
known  to  fame  as  the  Rev.  Samuel  Crowther,  D.  D., 
created  by  the  Church  of  England  Bishop  of  Niger,  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  having  been  conferred  by 
the  University  of  Oxford.  From  all  information  ob- 
tained, it  is  satisfactorily  proved,  that,  his  grandmother 
having  died  about  forty -three  years  ago,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  one  hundred  and  seven  years,  as  before  stated, 
then  his  grandfather's  age,  being  the  same  as  hers, 
would  correspond  with  that  period,  which  is  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  since  the  custom  of  an  heir  to 
royalty  taking  the  name  of  a  native  deity  was  recog- 
nized ;  and,  further,  that  his  grandfather  was  heir  to 
the  kingdom  which  was  then  the  most  powerful  of 
Central  Africa,  but  lost  his  royal  inheritance  by  the 
still  prevailing  custom  of  slavery  and  expatriation  as 
a  result  of  subjugation. 

Some  day,  then,  perhaps  before  the  "star  of  empire 
westward  takes  its  way,"  "  the  petty  chiefdoms  and 
2 


18  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY.    • 

principalities  south  of  the  Sahara"  may  yet  be  "gath- 
ered into  one  grand  consolidated  kingdom "  by  some 
negro's  intellect  and  might. 

To  possess  himself  of  the  early  origin  of  his  family 
was  in  keeping  with  a  mind  so  richly  endowed,  and 
soaring  always  far  beyond  the  confines  which  the  preju- 
dices of  this  country  apportion  him.  Not  that  he  ex- 
pected it  to  elevate  him  in  America,  knowing  that  cus- 
tom and  education  are  alike  averse  to  this  —  scarcely 
allowing  him  to  declare  with  freedom  from  derision 
the  immortal  sentence,  "I  am  a  man"  and  claiming 
rights  legitimately  belonging  to  its  estate.  For  by 
observing  his  history,  it  may  yet  prove  that  the  sequel 
is  but  the  goal  of  his  earliest  determination,  and  not 
of  recent  conception,  but  nursed  from  his  high-minded 
Mandingo-Golah  mother,  and  heard  in  the  chants  of  a 
Mandingo  grandmother,  depicted  with  all  the  gorgeous 
imagery  of  the  tropics,  as  the  story  of  their  lost  and 
regal  inheritance.  Thus  becoming  imbued  with  its 
spirit,  it  shaped  itself  in  the  dreams  of  his  childhood,  it 
entwined  about  the  studies  and  pursuits  of  his  youth, 
and,  through  that  remarkable  perseverance  which  char- 
acterizes him,  it  was  realized  in  the  full  vigor  of  man- 
hood to  trace  satisfactorily  his  ancestors'  history  on  the 
soil  of  its  origin. 

Thus  Africa  and  her  past  and  future  glory  became 
entwined  around  every  fibre  of  his  being ;  and  to  the 
work  of  replacing  her  among  the  powers  of  the  earth, 
and  exalting  her  scattered  descendants  on  this  conti- 
nentj-he  has  devoted  himself  wholly,  with  an  earnest- 
ness to  which  the  personal  sacrifices  made  by  him 
through  life  bear  witness. 


GENEALOGY.  .  19 

Said  he  on  one  occasion,  "  While  in  America  I  would 
be  a  republican,  strictly  democratic,  conforming  to  the 
letter  of  the  law  in  every  requirement  of  a  republican 
government,  in  a  monarchy  I  would  as  strictly  conform 
to  its  requirements,  having  no  scruples  at  titles,  or  ob- 
jections to  royalty,  believing  only  in  impartial  and  equi- 
table laws,  let  that  form  of  government  be  what  it 
might;  believing  that  only  preferable  under  just  laws 
which  is  best  adapted  to  the  genius  of  the  people. 

"I  would  not  advocate  monarchy  in  the  United 
States,  or  republicanism  in  Europe ;  yet  I  would  be 
either  king  or  president  consistently  with  the  form  of 
government  in  which  I  was  called  to  act.  But  I  would 
be  neither  president  nor  king  except  to  promote  the 
happiness,  advance  and  secure  the  rights  and  liberty, 
of  the  people  on  the  bases  of  justice,  equality,  and  im- 
partiality before  the  law." 

Such  are  the  principles  to  which  he  adheres.  Un- 
popular as  they  are,  they  have  not  unfitted  him  for  the 
duties  of  a  republican  citizen,  owing  to  his  ready  adap- 
tation to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  has  happened 
to  be  placed  for  promoting  the  interests  of  his  race. 

For,  next  to  his  pride  of  birth,  and  almost  insepara- 
ble from  it,  is  his  pride  of  race,  which  even  distin- 
guishes him  from  the  noted  colored  men  of  the  present 
time.  This  finds  an  apt  illustration  in  a  remark  made 
once  by  the  distinguished  Douglass.  Said  he,  "  I 
thank  God  for  making  me  a  man  simply ;  but  Delany 
always  thanks  him  for  making  him  a  black  man" 

Doubt  of  his  claims  and  criticism  of  his  actions  may 
be  freely  indulged,  for  even  under  the  more  favorable 


20  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

circumstances  in  a  democracy  like  ours,  they  would 
be  meted  out  to  him ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  it  is  not 
an  ordinary  occurrence,  in  a  country  like  ours,  with  all 
the  disadvantageous  surroundings  of  the  colored  people, 
to  find  an  individual  lifting  himself  above  the  masses 
by  the  levers  considered  the  most  unwieldy  —  his  faith 
in  his  race,  and  his  deep  identity  with  them.  So  com- 
pletely has  slavery  accomplished  its  mission,  depriving 
the  colored  people  of  every  opportunity  of  profit,  and 
every  hope  of  emolument,  confining  them  to  the  most 
menial  occupations,  engendering  a  timidity  to  advance- 
ment into  the  higher  pursuits,  unless  supported  by  some 
recognized  popular  element,  as  to  cause  them  to  be  at 
all  times  painfully  alive  to  their  humiliating  condition, 
and  to  act  as  though  ready  to  bow  apologies  to  the 
public  for  their  color.  While  this  can  hardly  be  charged 
as  a  fault  to  them,  it  is  at  best  lamentable,  and  at  the 
same  time  it  is  equally  true,  that  Major  Delany,  in  the 
sincerity  of  his  belief,  even  unconscious  of  its  effect, 
tends  to  the  other  extreme  —  that  white  men  are  often 
piqued  when  in  contact  with  him,  and  are  likely  at  first 
to  be  prejudiced  against  him. 

A  true  radical  of  the  old  school,  once  in  conversa- 
tion with  another  gentleman,  when  the  black  officer's 
opinion  on  the  subject  on  which  they  were  conversing 
was  quoted,  rejected  it,  and  vehemently  exclaimed, 
"  Sir,  I  do  not  believe  Delany  considers  any  white  man 
as  good  as  himself." 

He  rejects  always,  with  the  deepest  scorn,  the  asser- 
tion of  inferiority,  claiming  always  for  his  race  the 
highest  susceptibility  in  all  things,  which  belief  he 


GENEALOGY.  21 

asserts  with  additional  force  since  his  intercourse  with 
native  Africans  of  the  Niger  valley  regions,  whose  meta- 
physical reasonings  and  statuary  designs,  all  circum- 
stances considered,  challenged  his  highest  admiration, 
and  claiming  for  himself,  as  before  mentioned,  a  high 
descent. 

On  going  to  London,  he  made  known  his  efforts  to 
obtain,  while  in  Africa,  a  correct  knowledge  of  his  an- 
cestry to  the  distinguished  Henry  Ven,  D.  D.,  late  tutor 
of  mathematics  and  Latin  and  Greek  in  Cambridge 
College,  now  secretary  of  the  Church  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, Salsbery  Square,  when  the  generous  philanthropist 
at  once  stated  that  he  had  but  one  copy  of  Koehler's 
Polyglotta  Africana,  a  work  gotten  up  at  great  ex- 
pense and  labor  expressly  for  the  church  publication, 
the  price  being  four  or  five  pounds  sterling ;  but  that 
Dr.  Delany,  of  all  living  men,  had  a  legitimate  right  to 
it,  and  therefore  should  have  it ;  and  he  at  once  pre- 
sented it  to  him,  this  being  probably  the  only  one  in 
America.  In  this  the  high  status  claimed  for  his 
ancestry  received  additional  proofs. 

John  Randolph  of  Roanoke  -referring  always,  in  his 
pride,  to  his  blood  inherited  from  his  Indian  ancestry, 
as  the  strength  upon  whic'h  his  great  character  was 
formed,  and  Martin  Delany  glorying  in  the  blood 
transmitted  to  him  from  the  dusky  chiefs  of  Africa, 
cannot  be  considered  a  weakness  in  this  country, 
where  the  Indian  and  the  negro  are  entitled  to  the 
strongest  consideration  of  the  nation.  For  upon  his' 
parentage  and  race  rests  whatever  of  success  and  promi- 
nence our  subject  has  achieved;  they  have  entered  so 


22  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

strongly  into  all  bis  pursuits,  and  blended  themselves 
into  a  most  ennobling  influence,  that  they  reflect  them- 
selves in  every  act,  and  each  act,  marked  by  this  strong 
personality,  leads  to  the  individual  himself. 

In  personal  appearance  he  is  remarkable ;  seen  once, 
he  is  to  be  remembered.  He  is  of  medium  height, 
compactly  and  strongly  built,  with  broad  shoulders, 
upon  which  rests  a  head  seemingly  inviting,  by  its 
bareness,  attention  to  the  well-developed  organs,  with 
eyes  sharp  and  piercing,  seeming  to  take  in  everything 
at  a  glance  at  the  same  time,  while  will,  energy,  and 
fire  are  alive  in  every  feature ;  the  whole  surmounted 
on  a  groundwork  of  most  defiant  blackness.  It  is  fre- 
quently said  by  those  best  acquainted  with  his  charac- 
ter, that  in  order  to  excite  envy  in  him  would  be  for 
an  individual  to  possess  less  adulterated  blackness,  as 
his  great  boast  is,  that  there  lives  none  blacker  than 
himself.  His  carriage,  erect  and  independent,  as  if 
indicative  of  the  man,  calls  attention  to  his  figure. 
His  wonderful  powers  of  mental  and  physical  endur- 
ance and  great  constitutional  vigor,  resulting  in  a  phy- 
sique of  striking  elasticity,  lead  us  to  institute  com- 
parisons with  the  great  Lord  Brougham. 

If  there  is  one  faculty  for  the  cultivation  of  which 
he  is  more  remarkable  than  another,  it  is  his  power  of 
memory,  almost  as  universal  as  it  is  tenacious,  never 
seeming  wholly  to  forget  persons,  names,  places,  or 
events;  especially  those  of  interest  he  relates  with 
accuracy.  His  ready  memory,  always  suggestive,  ren- 
ders him  in  oratory  exhaustless  and  lengthy,  but  at  all 
times  interesting;  especially  to  a  promiscuous  audience 


GENEALOGY.  23 

he  is  instructive.  His  gestures  in  speaking  are  nervous 
and  rapid  at  first,  then  easy  and  graceful ;  his  delivery 
forcible  and  impressive;  while  his  voice,  deep-toned 
and  full,  attracts  his  auditors,  and  influences  them. 
At  all  times  logical,  appealing  more  to  the  reason  than 
to  the  feelings,  endeavoring  at  all  times  to  infuse  his 
own  enthusiasm  for  the  glorious  future  of  his  race  into 
them,  he  appeals  less  to  their  passions  than  their  pride. 

In  speaking,  he  is  most  effective  when  in  his  loftiest 
flights.  Losing  sight  of  his  audience,  and  wrapped  up 
in  his  theme,  his  features  beaming  with  the  beauty  of 
inspiration,  he  seems  to  address  himself  directly  to  the 
great  injustice  which  towers  above  him,  no  longer  him- 
self, but  the  spirit  of  some  martyr-hero  of  his  race  in 
the  cause  of  right,  bursting  the  cerements  of  the  grave 
to  renew  the  combat  on  earth.  To  all  conscious  of 
his  life-long  earnestness,  and  how  closely  the  orator 
and  the  man  are  allied,  his  efforts  are  not  without 
their  effect. 

He  conformed  to  no  conservatism  for  interest's  sake, 
nor  compromise  for  the  sake  of  party  or  expediency, 
demanding  only  the  rights  meted  out  to  others.  His 
sentiments  partaking  of  the  most  uncompromising  radi- 
calism, years  before  the  public  were  willing  to  listen  to 
such  doctrine,  caused  his  speeches  and  writings  to  be 
considered  impracticable  and  impolitic.  While  they 
were  never  characterized  by  violent  or  incendiary  ex- 
pressions, they  consequently  rendered  him  less  popular 
than  many  others  of  inferior  ability.  He  was  consid- 
ered impolitic  for  what  men  talked  with  abated  breath ; 
when  slavery  had  her  myrmidons  in  church  and  state, 
he  held  up,  in  all  of  its  deformities,  and  denounced  with- 


24  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

•out  fear  or  palliation,  depending  more  upon  the  cause 
than  the  time  to  justify  him.  "  Setting  his  foot  always 
in  advance  of  fate,"  his  views  were  deemed  impracti- 
cable ;  but,  proud  in  the  strength  of  his  opinions,  and 
wrapped  in  the  consciousness  of  their  ultimate  adoption, 
he  bided  his  hour. 

As  an  advocate  of  moral  reforms  his  influence  finds 
abundant  scope.  His  habits  being  as  simple  as  they 
are  temperate,  adhering  rigidly  to  physiological  rules, 
they  render  him  successful  in  presenting  such  meas- 
ures. In  early  youth  he  espoused  total  abstinence; 
conforming  first  from  principle,  it  afterwards  became 
an  established  habit  to  eschew  the  use  of  liquors,  or 
even  tobacco,  in  any  form,  and  from  these  early  princi- 
ples he  has  never  been  known  to  swerve.  While  his 
labors  and  sympathies  are  more  strongly  put  forth  in 
behalf  of  his  owTn  race,  as  more  needful  of  them,  yet  no 
one  exhibits'  a  more  catholic  spirit,  even  to  the  enemies 
of  his  race,  than  Martin  Delany.  In  his  present  sphere, 
his  untiring  efforts  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  every 
class,  irrespective  of  former  condition  and  politics,  and 
to  advance  the  prosperity  of  an  impoverished  and  pros- 
trate section  of  our  country,  will  render  his  name  ac- 
ceptable, not  only  as  the  able  and  incorruptible  executive 
officer  of  the  government,  but  as  a  humanitarian  in  its 
widest  acceptation.  To  sum  up  his  character,  there 
will  be  found  a  strong  individuality  permeating  it,  as 
though  aiming  always  to  be  himself  in  all  things ;  pos- 
sessing all  the  pride,  fire,  and  generous  characteristics 
of  the  true  negro,  without  the  timidity  or  weakness 
usually  ascribed,  as  resulting  from  their  condition  in 
America. 


GENEALOGY.  25 

There  is  every  evidence  that  he  possesses  in  an  emi- 
nent degree  the  elements  of  the  true  soldier,  and  under 
more  favorable  auspices  would  have  made  a  reputation 
worthy  of  record  beside  the  great  names  which  the  late 
rebellion  has  produced.  Fearless  without  being  rash,  at 
all  times  self-possessed  and  fully  equal  to  emergencies, 
a  lover  of  discipline;  an  iron  will  and  great  strength  of 
endurance  and  perseverance  bestowed  by  Nature,  while 
she  circumscribed  his  limits  for  exercising  them  ;  hence 
the  record  of  his  services  in  the  late  rebellion  will  be 
more  of  his  achievements  as  an  organizer  of  movements 
tending  to  advance  the  progress  of  freedom  in  recon- 
struction than  of  his  martial  accomplishments. 

While  the  true  place  of  the  distinguished  colored 
man  is  among  the  "  self-made  men "  of  our  country, 
still  it  must  be  admitted  that  their  surroundings  being 
less  favorable  to  insure  success  than  white  men  of  the 
same  class,  in  proportion,  their  achievements  are  as 
great.  And  while  many  of  this  class  were  fostered  by 
the  Anti-slavery  Society,  —  its  patronage  being  always 
extended  to  the  talented  and  meritorious  of  the  race, 
—  still  its  immediate  support  was  never  held  out  to 
him.  Solely  upon  his  own  will,  perseverance,  and 
merits  can  be  based  the  secret  of  his  success  wherein 
others  have  failed. 

His  mother  was  considered  a  most  exemplary  Chris- 
tian, active  and  energetic,  with  quick  perceptions  and 
fine  natural  talents,  inheriting  all  the  finer  traits  of 
character  of  her  Mandingo  origin.  The  Mandingoes, 
from  their  love  of  traffic,  are  nicknamed  the  "Jews  of 
Africa."  An  incident  which  is  related  of  her  shows 
the  force  of  character  which  she  transmitted  to  her  son. 


26  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  enslave  herself  and  children, 
five  in  all,  in  Virginia,  where  they  resided.  Being  in- 
formed of  it,  she  at  once  determined  to  test  or  avert 
it.  Taking  the  two  youngest,  she  set  out  on  foot, 
with  one  lashed  across  her  back,  and  the  other  in  her 
arms ;  she  walked  the  distance  from  Charlestown  to 
Winchester  in  time  to  meet  the  court,  consulted  her 
lawyer,  entered  suit,  and  when  all  difficulties  were  sat- 
isfactorily adjusted,  she  returned  to  her  children  trium- 
phant. "Some  Roman  lingered  there,"  that  neither  the 
miasma  of  slavery,  with  which  the  atmosphere  about 
was  impregnated,  nor  the  uncertain  future  of  her  chil- 
dren, could  crush  out ;  but  a  slow  and  steady  fire 
burnt  forever  in  her  soul,  and  gleamed  along  the  path- 
way of  her  youngest  born  to  guide  him  to  duty  in  the 
unequal  strife  of  his  race.  She  lived  long  enough  to 
witness  the  overthrow  of  the  oligarchy  against  which 
she  had  contended  in  Virginia.  She  died  at  Pitts- 
burg,  in  the  family  of  her  son,  Samuel  Delany,  in 
1864,  at  the  age  of  ninety-six. 

This  family  attained  great  longevity,  as  is  again  shown 
in  tfye  father  of  Majorjelany,  who  gave  every  indica- 
tion of  a  hale  old  age,  when  he  was  carried  off  by  the 
cholera  which  swept  over  Pittsburg  at  one  time,  when 
he  had  reached  his  eighty-fourth  year.  In  life  he  was 
known  as  a  man  of  great  integrity  of  character,  of  ac- 
knowledged courage,  and  was  remarkable  for  his  great 
[physical  strength.  He  was  well  known  in  Martin sburg, 
where,  for  a  stipulated  sum,  he  obtained  his  freedom, 
thence  went  to  Chambersburg,  whither  his  family  had 
preceded  him.  He  bore  a  scar  on  his  face,  the  result 
of  a  wound,  which  adds  another  testimony  to  the  "bar- 


GENEALOGY.  27 

barisra  of  slavery."  It  was  inflicted  by  the  sheriff  of 
the  county,  who,  with  eight  men,  went  to  arrest  him 
one  morning,  because  he  had  nine  times  torn  the  clothes 
from  off  the  person  of  one  Violet,  as  he  was  endeavor- 
ing to  inflict  bodily  punishment  on  him.  Each  time, 
as  he  dashed  the  man  Violet  from  him,  he  assured  him 
he  had  no  wish  to  injure  him. 

The  sheriff  and  his  men,  approaching,  were  warned  by 
him  to  keep  off.  He  then  fortified  himself  behind  a 
wagon  in  a  lane,  and,  being  armed  with  its  swingle-tree, 
bade  defiance  to  the  authority  attempting  to  surround 
him.  The  better  to  effect  a  retreat,  if  necessary,  by 
climbing  backwards  he  raised  himself  to  the  top  of 
the  fence,  his  face  to  his  persecutors.  At  the  moment 
the  top  was  gained,  he  was  brought  to  the  ground,  sense- 
less and  bleeding,  by  a  skilfully-directed  stone.  He 
was  then  secured  and  taken  to  prison  at  Charlestown. 

The  sheriff  was  desirous  of  shooting  him;  but  Violet, 
with  a  view  to  his  market  value  rather  than  apprecia- 
tion of  his  determined  courage,  objected  most  decided- 
ly to  this,  adding  that  .he  was  "  too  good  a  man  to  be 
killed."  The  stone  was  thus  substituted  for  the  bullet. 
With  this  mark  of  brutality  daily  before  the  eyes  of 
his  children,  and  in  its  train  all  the  humiliations  and 
bestial  associations  to  which  their  hapless  race  was 
subjected,  it  is  no  matter  of  wonderment  that  Martin 
Delany  should  watch  every  enactment  concerning  his 
race  with  exactness,  and  his  bitterness  against  their  op- 
pressors and  abettors  would  sometimes  outrun  his  sense 
of  the  politic,  or  that  all  his  efforts  should,  through 
life,  converge  to  the  same  end  to  contribute  his  aid  to 
root  out  every  fibre  of  slavery  and  its  concomitants. 


28  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1843,  he  was  married  to 
Kate  A.,  youngest  daughter  of  Charles  Richards,  of 
Pittsburg,  the  grandfather  and  father  of  whom  had 
been  men  of  influence  and  wealth  of  their  time.  This 
daughter  was  one  of  the  heirs  to  their  estate,  which 
had  increased  in  value,  as  it  embraced  some  of  the  best 
property  in  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  estimated  at  nearly 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  This  was 
finally  lost  to  them  in  1847,  simply  by  a  turn  of  law, 
in  consequence  of  the  unwillingness  of  attorneys  to 
litigate  so  large  a  claim  in  favor  of  a  colored  against 
white  families. 

Mrs.  Delany  is  a  fine-looking,  intelligent,  and  appre- 
ciative lady,  possessed  of  fine  womanly  sympathies,  and, 
always  entering  fully  into  his  pursuits,  has  contributed 
no  little  aid  to  his  success. 

With  a  companion  whose  views  are  so  thoroughly  in 
unison  with  his  own,  his  domestic  relations  are  pros- 
perous and  happy.  Equally  as  zealous  for  the  in- 
terest of  her  race,  and  self-sacrificing  as  himself,  she 
encouraged  and  urged  him  on. in  his  most  doubtful 
moments,  —  for  many  they  were  while  the  political  hori- 
zon was  darkened  by  the  thick  clouds  of  slavery. 

While  they  were  never  possessed  of  means,  through 
her  management  many  poor  fugitives  and  indigent  per- 
sons were  succored  by  them.  She  has  cheerfully  borne 
poverty  when  it  could  have  been  otherwise,  and  would 
forego  personal  comforts  rather  than  he  should  fall 
back  from  the  position  he  had  taken,  for  pecuniary 
benefits  for  herself  and  children. 

From  this  marriage  eleven  children  were  born,  seven 
of  whom  are  living.  In  the  selection  of  the  names  of 


GENEALOGY.  29 

these  children,  the  speciality  is  again  evident.  If  the 
names  given  to  children  generally  are  intended  as  in- 
centives to  the  formation  of  character,  then,  when  they 
are  sufficiently  marked  by  selections  from  prominent 
characters,  it  may  at  least  be  indicative  of  the  senti- 
ments of  the  parents.  If  this  is  admitted,  then  the 
choice  of  names  of  these  children  gives  unmistakable 
evidences  of  the  determination  of  their  parents  that 
these  brilliant  characters  should  not  be  lost  sight  of, 
but  emulated  by  them.  While  they  are  strictly  in 
keeping  with  the  father's  characteristic,  they  being  all 
of  African  affinity  or  consanguinity,  they  are  neverthe- 
less remarkable  amidst  such  surroundings  as  American 
contingencies  constantly  present.  The  eldest  is  Tous-  / 
saint  L'Ouverture,  after  the  first  military  hero  and 
statesman  of  San  Domingo ;  the  second,  Charles  Len- 
nox Remond,  from  the  eloquent  living  declaimer;  the 
third,  Alexander  Dumas,  from  that  brilliant  author  of 
romance ;  the  fourth,  Saint  Cyprian,  from  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  primitive  bishops  of  the  Christian 
Church ;  the  fifth,  Faustin  Soulouque,  after  the  late  Em- 
peror of  Hayti ;  the  sixth,  Rameses  Placido,  from  the 
good  King  of  Egypt,  "  the  ever-living  Rameses  II,"  and 
the  poet  and  martyr  of  freedom  to  his  race  on  the 
Island  of  Cuba;  the  seventh,  the  daughter  Ethiopia 
Halle  Amelia,  the  country  of  his  race,  to  which  is  given 
the  unequalled  promise  that  "  she  should  soon  stretch 
forth  her  hands  unto  God." 


30  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  II. 
EARLY  EDUCATION. 

IN  the  recent  struggle  through  which  the  nation  has 
passed,  like  convulsions,  sometimes,  of  certain  por- 
tions of  the  physical  world,  old  features  and  landmarks 
are  swept  away,  and  new  features  are  apparent,  devel- 
oping on  the  surface,  the  existence  of  which  very  lit- 
tle, if  anything,  was  heretofore  known. 

A  class  has  been  invoked  into  action,  to  whose  sub- 
lime patience  and  enduring  heroism  the  genius  of 
poetry  will  turn  for  inspiration,  while  future  historians, 
recognizing  evidences  of  the  true  statesmanship  which 
they  have  exhibited  through  the  dark  night  of  slavery, 
will  place  them  amid  the  brightest  constellations  of  our 
time.  This  class  exhibited  the  same  anomaly  in  the 
midst  of  slavery,  that  the  slaves  in  a  government  whose 
doctrines  taught  liberty  and  equality  to  all  men,  and 
under  whose  banner  the  exile  and  fugitive  found 
refuge,  presented  to  the  civilization  of  this  century. 
They  were  an  intermediate  class  in  all  the  slave 
states,  standing  between  the  whites  and  the  bondmen, 
known  as  the  free  colored  ;  debarred  from  enjoying 
the  privileges  of  the  one,  but  superior  in  condition  to 
the  other,  more,  however,  by  sufferance  than  by  actual 
law.  While  they  were  the  stay  of  the  one,  they  were 


EARLY  EDUCATION.  31 

the  object  of  distrust  to  the  other,  and  at  the  same  time 
subject  to  the  machinations  and  jealousies  of  the  non- 
slaveholders,  whom  they  rival  in  mechanical  skill  and 
trade.  Prior  to  the  rebellion  these  represented  a  fair 
proportion  of  wealth  and  culture,  both  attributable  to 
their  own  thrift  and  energy.  Unlike  the  same  class 
at  the  North,  they  had  but  little,  if  any,  foreign  com- 
petition in  the  various  departments  of  labor  or  trade 
against  which  to  contend.  Immigration  not  being 
encouraged  at  the  South,  as  at  the  North,  could  not 
affect  their  progress,  thus  leaving  all  avenues  open  to 
the  free  colored,  while  they  were  excluded  from  the 
more  liberal  and  learned  professions.  But  if  their 
faculties  for  accumulation  were  preferable  to  the  same 
class  North,  there  were  influences  always  at  work  to 
deprive  them  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  either  openly 
or  covertly.  On  the  one  side  were  exorbitant  taxes 
for  various  public  chanties,  from  the  benefits  of  which 
the  indigent  of  their  race  were  deprived,  and  for  public 
schools,  to  which  their  children  were  denied  admittance. 
Business  men  found  it  in  many  instances  impolitic  to 
refuse  requests  for  loans  coming  from  influential  white 
men,  under  whose  protection  they  exercised  their 
meagre  privileges,  and  the  payment  of  which  it  was 
equally  impolitic  to  press,  nor  were  they  allowed  to 
sue  for  debts. 

Thus  their  position  in  the  midst  of  a  slave  commu- 
nity was  altogether  precarious,  as  they  were  looked 
upon  as  a  dangerous  element  by  the  slaveholders. 
Their  lives  and  material  prosperity  standing  in  direct 
contrast  to  the  repeated  assertions  of  the  advocates  and 
apologists  of  slavery,  that  they  would,  if  free,  relapse 


32  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

into  barbarism,  or  would  burden  the  states  in  which 
they  were  found,  for  support.  So  marked  and  wide- 
spread had  this  class  become  in  the  Southern  States, 
that  it  was  a  subject  of  general  comment,  but  a  few 
years  before  the  rebellion,  the  almost  simultaneous  pe- 
titions to  the  various  legislative  bodies,  to  drive  them 
from  their  homes,  and  in  some  of  the  states  these  were 
only  baffled  by  the  bribes  resorted  to  by  their  victims. 
These  continued  aggressions  succeeded,  however,  in 
driving  large  numbers  to  settle  in  the  free  states  and 
the  Canadas,  notwithstanding  the  unmigratOry  ten- 
dency of  southern  races.  There  they  remained  until 
their  listening  ears  caught  the  first  note  of  the  rebel- 
lion, as  borne  from  Su inter's  walls,  and  with  all  the 
holy  tenderness  which  clusters  around  the  national  col- 
ors in  the  hearts  of  these  men,  they  went  forward  to 
swell  the  Union  ranks.  For  to  them  the  cause  was  as 
sacred  as  that  which  inspired  the  crusaders  of  old. 

There  were  others  whose  far-seeing  visions,  peering 
into  futurity,  beheld  the  balance  of  power  held  out  to 
them,  and  remained  awaiting  the  march  of  events  not 
far  removed,  and  at  this  time  are  recognized  as  the 
accepted  leaders  of  the  rising  race. 

Under  this  state  of  society  was  engendered  a  habitual 
watchfulness  of  public  measures,  making  them  tena- 
cious of  their  rights  and  immunities  in  every  commu- 
nity where  they  are  found,  and  peculiarly  sensitive  to 
the  slightest  indication  of  encroachments,  which  has  re- 
sulted in  developing  in  them  a  foresight  and  sagacity 
not  surpassed  in  others,  whose  individual  status  is  less 
closely  allied  with  political  measures. 

From  this  class  sprang  the  honored  and  scholarly 


EARLY  EDUCATION.  33 

Daniel  E.  Paine,  Bishop  of  the  African  Methodist 
Church,  —  that  great  religious  body,  the  power  of  which 
is  destined  to  be  felt  in  America,  and  the  influence  of 
which  to  be  circumscribed  only  by  the  ocean.  The  noble 
Vesey,  of  South  Carolina,  who  sealed  his  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  freedom  with  his  life,  was  of  this  class. 
Before  the  walls  of  Petersburg,  these  were  among  the 
gallant  soldiers  who  gave  battle  to  the  trained  veterans 
of  Lee,  and  at  the  ramparts  of  Wagner  they  waded  to 
victory  in  blood. 

Amid  these  uncertain  surroundings  was  the  boyhood 
of  Martin  Delany  passed.  In  childhood  the  playmate 
of  John  Avis,  at  Charlestown,  in  manhood,  the  asso- 
ciate of  the  immortal  Brown  of  Ossawatomie,  in  a 
measure  which  ultimately  resulted  in  rendering  the 
name  of  the  kind-hearted  Virginian  historic  in  connec- 
tion with  his  illustrious  captive. 

With  all  the  schools  closed  against  them  in  Virginia, 
it  was  not  until  about  1818  that  his  brothers  and  sisters 
ever  attempted  to  receive  instruction. 

With  the  vast  domain  of  Virginia  at  this  date, 
teeming  with  school-houses,  attended  by  thousands  of 
colored  children,  and  instructed  by  white  northern 
teachers,  as  well  as  those  of  their  own  race,  the  tuition 
of  the  Delany  children  forms  a  singular  contrast. 

The  famous  New  York  Primer  and  Spelling  Book 
was  brought  to  them  about  that  time  by  itinerant 
Yankee  pedlers,  trading  in  rags  and  old  pewter,  and 
giving  in  exchange  for  these  new  tin  ware,  school- 
books,  and  stationery.  These  pedlers  always  found  it 
convenient  and  profitable,  likewise,  to  leave  their  pecu- 
liar looking  box  wagon,  to  whisper  into  the  ear  of  a 
3 


34  LIFE  or  MAJOU  M.  R.  DELANY. 

black,  "You're  as  much  right  to  learn  to  read  as  these 
whites ;  "  and  looking  at  their  watches,  had-  a  "  snigger 
of  time  left  yet  to  stay  a  little  and  give  a  lesson  or 
so."  These  "didn't  charge,  only  gim  me  what  ye 
mine  to."  It  was  under  such  covert  tuition,  and  with 
such  instructors,  in  the  humble  home  of  Pati  Delany, 
that  the  young  Martin,  together  with  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  were  taught  to  read  and  write. 

This  stealthy  manner  of  learning,  while  they  were 
unconscious  of  the  cause,  had  the  tendency  of  making 
them  more  attentive  and  eager,  perhaps,  than  other- 
wise, for  their  tuition  was  not  of  long  duration  before 
the  elder  boys  were  able  to  read  intelligently,  and  in- 
struct the  younger  children,  we  are  told.  And  after  a 
time  almost  improbable  had  elapsed,  so  well  arranged 
were  the  plans  for  imparting  instruction,  that  the 
authorities,  who  are  always  so  vigilant  in  inspecting  or 
prying  into  the  movements  of  the  free  blacks,  "  that 
dangerous  element "  of  the  South,  were  so  completely 
baffled,  that  not  only  the  smaller  children  were  reading 
and  spelling,  but  the  larger  boys  were  actually  writing 
"passes  "  for  the  slaves  of  their  neighborhood. 

As  their  minds  developed,  all  restraint  was  thrown 
aside,  and  the  lessons  given  and  recited  heretofore  in 
whispers,  were  now  being  recited  to  each  other  aloud. 
Leaving  the  little  room  in  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  assemble,  with  throbbing  hearts  and  eyes  beaming 
with  joyous  anticipations  to  receive  those  early  lessons, 
unconscious  of  the  hair-suspended  sword  of  southern 
justice  above  their  innocent  heads,  they  dared  to  "play 
school"  like  other  children,  under  the  shaded  arbor  of 
their  mother's  garden.  This  soon  attracted  the  atten- 


EARLY  EDUCATION.  35 

tion  of  their  neighbors.  Surrounded  as  they  were  by 
whites,  it  was  a  hazardous  and  "  overt  act."  Major 
Delany  describes  the  "  situation  "  thus  :  "  In  the 
rear,  adjoining,  on  the-  opposite  street,  was  Downey's; 
on  the  left,  adjoining,  Offit's;  on  the  right,  immediately 
across  the  street  from  Hogan's,  was  the  Long  O'nary, 
where  Bun's  great  school  was  kept,  the  largest  school 
in  the  town  except  Heckman's  Seminary."  Thus  the 
progress  of  Pati  Delany's  children  was  soon  made  the 
gossip  of  the  day,  and  attracted  thither  continually 
curious  inquirers,  eager  to  see  and  hear  negro  children 
spell  and  read. 

It  chanced  one  day,  in  the  midst  of  their  recitations, 
their  mother  being  absent,  they  were  interrupted  by  a 
man  inquiring  the  name  of  their  parents,  then  of  each 
child,  taking  it  down  in  the  mean  time  in  his  "book. 
Being  satisfied,  he  rode  away.  These  children,  uncon- 
scious of  the  purport  of  the  visit,  joyfully  related  it  to 
their  mother  on  her  return.  Great  was  their  astonish- 
ment to  see  the  expression  of  deep  dejection  that  over- 
shadowed the  features  that  but  a  few  moments  before 
had  shone  with  happiness  as  she  greeted  them.  Her 
only  response  to  their  information  was  a  long-drawn 
sigh,  for  too  well  she  knew  that  visit  foreboded  trouble. 
In  a  few  days  her  fears  were  realized.  A  man  called 
at  the  house,  and  delivered  a  summons  to  her,  to  the 
effect  that  it  was  understood  that  she  was  having  her 
children  taught  to  read,  in  direct  violation  of  law,  for 
whieh  she  should  answer  before  a  court  of  justice. 
The  devoted  mother's  consternation  can  be  well  pic- 
tured, wrhen  we  recall  the  justice  extended  to  the  noble 
Prudence  Crandell,  in  Connecticut,  for  teaching  negro 


36  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

children  to  read.  It  followed,  in  her  fears,  that  she 
resorted  to  the  concealment  of  the  books  from  her 
children ;  but  the  sole  cause  of  offence  to  the  majesty 
of  Virginia's  laws,  the  knowledge,  and  the  insatiable 
thirst  for  further  acquirement,  could  neither  be  hidden 
nor  taken  from  them. 

This  violation  of  law,  and  the  inevitable  conse- 
quences, were  soon  bruited  around  the  country.  Nei- 
ther sympathy  or  advice  was  extended  to  the  courageous 
woman,  whose  only  crime  was  wearing  a  dusky  skin ; 
but  instead,  the  jeers  and  scowls  which  the  vilest  cul- 
prit receives  met  her  on  every  side.  Mingled  with 
their  imprecations  could  be  remembered  the  significant 
expressions,  "  A  wholesome  lesson  !  "  "  It  will  do  that 
proud,  defiant  woman  good ! "  "  She  always  made  pre- 
tensions above  a  negro."  Suits  were  constantly  entered, 
and  failed.  She  was  persecuted  by  all,  with  one  noble 
exception  —  that  of  Randall  Brown,  a  banker,  who  often 
advised  her  to  leave  the  place.  Finally,  in  September, 
1822,  under  the  pretext  of  moving  to  Martinsburg, 
she  left  Charlestown  for  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  where  re- 
siding for  fifteen  years,  her  children  were  enabled  to 
continue  their  studies,  with  "  none  to  molest  or  make 
them  afraid."  There,  for  several  years,  they  attended 
school,  securing  such  advantages  as  the  country  schools 
of  those  days  afforded. 

After  some  time  had  elapsed,  Delany's  parents'  means 
being  limited,  he  was  compelled  to  leave  school.  He  then 
went  to  Cumberland  County,  about  two  years  after  he 
had  left  school,  to  work;  but,  becoming  dissatisfied 
with  his  prospects,  he  returned  to  Chambersburg,  to 
obtain  the  consent  of  his  parents  to  go  to  Pittsburg, 


EARLY  EDUCATION.  37 

where  facilities  for  obtaining  an  education  were  supe- 
rior to  those  of  his  home.  On  the  morning  of  the 
29th  of  July,  1831,  we  date  the  first  bold  and  deter- 
mined move  on  his  part  to  fit  himself  for  the  herculean 
task  which  he  had  marked  out  for  himself.  Alone,  and 
on  foot,  the  young  hero  set  out  for  Pittsburg,  with  little 
or  no  money,  and  consequently  few  friends.  Crossing 
the  three  grand  ridges  of  the  Alleghany,  he  soon 
reached  Bedford.  Here,  employment  being  offered 
to  him,  he  remained  for  one  month.  Never  losing 
sight  of  his  resolves,  he  now  turned  his  face  towards 
Pittsburg,  in  which  city  the  foundation  of  his  fame 
afterwards  rested. 


38  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER    III. 

STUDYING  NORTH. 

IN  directing  his  footsteps  to  Pittsburg,  Fortune  fa- 
vored the  student  in  a  degree  wonderful  for  that 
time,  while  she  chilled  the  energies  of  the  man  in  later 
years.  There  he  was  compelled  to  labor  faithfully,  at 
whatever  work  his  hands  found  to  do,  in  order  to  con- 
tinue his  studies. 

Fortunately  for  him,  a  way  was  opened  from  sources 
least  expected  at  that  time.  Great  efforts  were  being 
made  by  the  colored  people  themselves,  at  Pittsburg, 
to  advance  their  educational  interests,  together  with 
other  measures  for  the  recognition  of  their  political 
rights.  A  church  was  purchased  from  the  white  Meth- 
odists for  a  school-house,  —  an  educational  society 
having  been  previously  organized,  —  and  Rev.  Louis 
Woodson,  a  colored  gentleman,  of  fine  talents,  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  it.  Under  the  supervision  of 
this  gentleman,  during  the  winter  of  1831,  his  progress 
in  the  common  branches  were  such  as  to  warrant  his 
promotion  to  the  more  advanced  studies.  It  was  com- 
monly said  by  his  friends  at  school,  that  his  retentivcness 
of  history — his  favorite  study  —  was  so  remarkable 
that  he  seemed  to  have  recited  from  the  palm  of  his 
hand. 


STUDYING  NORTH.  39 

A  young  student  of  Jefferson,  seventeen  miles  dis- 
tant, who  frequently  spent  his  vacation  at  Pittsburg, 
assisted  him  in  his  difficult  studies,  as  they  occupied  the 
same  room.  While  studying  together,  they  conceived 
the  plan  for  benefiting  other  young  men  of  like  tastes 
by  forming  an  association  for  their  intellectual  and 
moral  improvement.  It  soon  became  popular,  and  the 
Theban  Literary  Society  was  afterwards  formed.  Judg- 
ing from  the  names  adopted  by  their  officers,  pedantic 
as  they  are,  they  evince  an  acquaintance  with  the  rudi- 
ments of  a  polite  education  not  expected  from  that 
class  under  their  disadvantages,  the  names,  relative 
to  their  offices,  being  taken  from  the  Greek.  This  was 
but  the  small  beginning  for  wider  labors.  Since  then 
they  have  associated  with  other  bodies,  more  important 
in  their  character,  yet  bearing  a  like  relation  to  human- 
ity. But  it  was,  perhaps,  to  the  literary  society  of 
Pittsburg,  resembling  that  formed  by  Franklin  and  his 
young  associates,  that  the  germ  of  their  usefulness  first 
came  forth. 

It  was  also  about  the  winter  of  1831-2  that  the 
little  ripple,  destined  to  be  the  great  anti-slavery  wave, 
against  which  the  ship  of  state  would  madly  contend, 
was  noticed ;  for,  almost  simultaneously  with  the  out- 
break for  freedom  at  Southampton,  Va.,  known  as  Nat 
Turner's  Insurrection,  appeared  "  Garrison's  Thoughts 
on  American  Colonization." 

Then,  to  the  casual  observer,  the  action  of  the  one  was 
a  ridiculous  folly;  that  of  the  other,  the  wild  fancies  of 
a  fanatic's  brain.  Now,  there  is  a  dark  significance  in 
that  solitary  figure,  looming  up  in  the  dark  back- 
ground of  slavery  as  an  offering  on  the  altar  of  freedom, 


40  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

in  the  home  of  Washington,  preceded  by  that  attempted 
at  Charleston  with  Denmark  Vesey  at  its  head,  fol- 
lowed by  the  closing  scene  at  Harper's  Ferry.  In  each 
of  these  there  was  a  warning  and  a  lesson  as  direct  as 
those  which  the  Hebrew  lawgiver  received  amidst  the 
thunders  of  Sinai,  but  by  which  a  slavery-blinded 
nation  failed  to  profit,  until  the  last  great  martyr  of 
Ossowattomie  was  offered  up. 

"  When  that  great  heart  broke,  'twas  a  world  that  shook ; 
From  their  slavish  sleep  a  million  awoke ;  " 

when  Virginia,  the  cradle  of  slavery,  became  its  burial- 
place,  the  Smithfield  of  freedom's  martyrs,  and  the 
battle-ground  of  a  slave-founded  Confederacy;  while 
on  the  other  side  the  "  fanatic "  stands  a  witness  of 
the  workings  of  the  stupendous  powers  invoked. 

The  writings  of  Mr.  Garrison,  and  the  Southampton 
insurrection,  awakened  much  interest  in  many  minds, 
which  before  that  time  were  either  absorbed  in  selfish 
speculations,  and  indifferent  to  the  interest  of  the 
nation,  or  despondent  of  ameliorating  the  condition 
of  the  black  race  in  this  country. 

The  young  Delany,  not  forgetting  his  mother's  per- 
secutions, his  father's  humiliations  in  Virginia,  and  the 
wrongs  of  his  race  generally,  caught  the  spirit  of 
truth,  and  was  fired  with  a  high  and  holy  purpose. 
With  the  scene  of  Nat  Turner's  defeat  and  execution 
before  him,  he  consecrated  himself  to  freedom ;  and, 
like  another  Hannibal,  registered  his  vow  against 
the  enemies  of  his  race.  To  prepare  for  everything 
that  promised  success,  to  undergo  every  privation 
and  suffering,  if  necessary  to  accomplish  this  object, 
was  now  the  resolve  of  the  young  neophyte.  He 


STUDYING  NORTH.  41 

began,  in  the  right  direction,  to  prepare  himself  for 
whatever  position  he  should  be  called  upon  to  fill,  by  a 
renewed  earnestness  in  his  studies. 

To  ethics  and  metaphysics  he  devoted  his  attention  ; 
and,  while  a  student,  so  proficient  was  he  in  the  essen-* 
tial  principles  of  natural  philosophy,  as  to  compete  suc- 
cessfully with  a  teacher  in  a  college  of  respectability. 
His  progress  and  attainments,  under  circumstances  to 
which  no  people  save  his  own  race  have  ever  been  sub- 
jected, are  evidences  of  the  ambition  and  workings  of 
a  mind  untamed  by  impediments  which  opposed  it. 

Then,  no  college  or  academy  of  note  in  the  United 
States  received  within  its  walls  a  black  student,  no 
matter  how  deserving,  save  under  obligations  hereafter 
to  be  mentioned,  not  excepting  Dartmouth,  ostensibly 
established  for  Indians,  nor  the  great,  independent 
Harvard,  of  ancient  pride.  "At  this  time,"  said  Martin 
Delany,  "or  shortly  after,  the  now  learned  J.  W.  C. 
Pennington,  D.  D.,  who  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity  at  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  under 
Prince  Leopold,  president,  was  standing  either  behind 
the  door  of  Yale  College,  or  perhaps  on  its  threshold, 
listening  to  instructions  given  in  the  various  branches 
by  the  professors,  and  considering  it  a  privilege,  as  it 
was  the  closest  proximity  allowed  him  towards  enter- 
ing its  sacred  precincts  as  a  student." 

Such  was  the  limited  opportunity  fora  thorough  edu- 
cation among  the  colored  people,  and  so  great  was  the 
prejudice  against  them  while  Martin  Delany  was  en- 
deavoring to  acquire  his,  that  it  is  safe  to  infer  that  no 
colored  person,  recognized  as  colored,  previous  to  the 
establishment  of  institutions  of  learning  under  the 


42  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

anti-slavery  agitation,  ever  completed  si  collegiate  course. 
True  it  is,  that  a  few  were  educated  under  the  auspices 
of  colonization  societies,  with  no  design  of  benefiting 
the  colored  people  in  this  country,  but  on  the  condition 
of  their  leaving  it  for  Africa. 

While  pursuing  his  studies  at  Pittsburg,  his  name 
was  solicited  and  obtained  by  the  zealous  Mr.  Dawes, 
agent  of  the  Oberlin  Collegiate  Institute,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  that  now  famous  institute.  He  afterwards  de- 
clined going,  it  being  then  but  a  preparatory  school,  and 
his  studies  being  fully  equal  to  those  prosecuted  there. 
He,  like  Byron,  could  not  understand  that  knowledge 
was  less  valuable,  or  less  true  as  knowledge,  without 
having  the  parchment  to  confirm  it;  while  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  great  poet  and  that  of  the  get-by-chance 
student  differs ;  one  having  no  formidable  barriers  to 
overcome,  the  other  having  first  to  struggle  against 
oppositions,  in  order  to  create  a  healthy  public  senti- 
ment, that  others  after  him  might  gain  it  without  the 
giant's  task. 


MOKAL  EFFORTS.  43 


CHAPTER    IV. 

MORAL  EFFORTS. 

IN  1834 Major  Delany  was  actively  engaged  in  the  or- 
ganzation  of  several  associations  for  the  relief  of  the* 
poor  of  the  city,  and  for  the  moral  elevation  of  his  people. 
Among  them  was  the  first  total  abstinence  society  ever 
formed  among  the  colored  people  ;  and  another  known 
as  the  Philanthropic  Society,  which,  while  formed  osten- 
sibly for  benevolent  purposes,  relative  to  the  indigent 
of  the  city,  was  really  the  foundation  of  one  of  the  great 
links  connecting  the  slaves  with  their  immediate  friends 
in  the  North,  —  known  as  the  "Underground  Railroad," 
—  which,  for  long  years,  had  baffled  the  slaveholders. 
Of  its  executive  board  he  was  for  many  years  secretary. 

The  work  contributed  by  this  association  constituted 
it  the  invaluable  aid  of  the  anti-slavery  cause.  Its  effi- 
ciency may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that,  while  in  its 
infancy,  it  is  recorded  that,  within  one  year,  not  less 
than  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  persons  were  aided  in. 
escaping  to  Canada  and  elsewhere. 

His  sphere  in  life  gave  character  to  him,  identifying 
him  with  a  people  and  a  time  at  once  wonderful 
and  perilous ;  wonderful  that  amid  all  the  indignities 
and  outrages  heaped  upon  them,  unrebuked  by  church 
or  state,  they  did  not  degenerate  into  infidels  and 


44  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

law-breakers,  instead  of  being  the  Christian  and  truly 
law-abiding  element  of  the  republic  —  perilous,  for  the 
emissaries  of  the  South  instituted  the  fiendish  spirit 
of  mobbism,  selecting  either  the  dwellings  or  the  busi- 
ness-places of  the  prominent  colored  men  of  the  city. 
On  one  occasion,  while  this  spirit  was  rife,  they  made 
an  attack  on  the  house  of  Mr.  John  B.  Vashon.  Major 
Delany,  then  quite  a  young  man,  but  true  to  his  princi- 
ples of  justice  and  humanity,  and  in  view  of  future 
outrages,  together  with  men  of  more  mature  age, 
called  on  Judge  Pentland  and  other  prominent  citi- 
zens, to  notify  them  that,  though  they  were  a  law- 
abiding  people,  they  did  not  intend  to  remain  and  be 
murdered  in  their  houses  without  a  most  determined 
resistance  to  their  assailants,  as  there  was  little  or  no 
assistance  or  protection  rendered  by  the  authorities. 

This  resulted  in  his  being  chosen  one  of  the  special 
police  from  among  the  blacks  and  whites  appointed  in 
conjunction  with  the  military  called  out  by  the  intrepid 
mayor  of  Pittsburg,  Dr.  Jonas  .R.  McClintock.  Many 
were  the  occasions  on  which  he  stood  among  the  fore- 
most defenders  against  those  mobs  which  at  that  time 
were  more  frequent  than  desirable. 

The  general  grievances  of  the  colored  people  of  the 
North,  occasioned  solely  on  account  of  caste,  were  a 
disgrace  to  the  civilization  of  the  age,  and  incompatible 
with  the  elements  of  our  professed  republicanism, 
which  induced  them  to  call  an  assemblage  year  after 
year,  delegating  their  best  talent  to  these,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  placing  before  the  people  the  true  condition  of 
the  colored  people  of  the  North,  and  also  to  devise 
methods  of  assisting  the  slaves  of  the  South. 


MORAL  EFFORTS.  45 

These  conventions, wnr«  held  at  an  early  date.  As 
far  back  as  1829  we  find  a  National  Convention  Meet- 
ing in  Philadelphia,  and  where  for  many  subsequent 
years  they  assembled  ;  and  enrolled  on  their  list  of 
members  we  find  the  honored  names  of  Robert  Doug- 
lass (the  father  of  the  artist),  Hinton,  Grice,  Bowers, 
Burr,  and  Forten,  together  with  Peck,  Vashon,  Shadd, 
and  others  whose  names  would  give  dignity  and  char- 
acter to  any  convention. 

Through  a  series  of  years  these  continued  lifting  up 
their  voices  against  the  existing  political  outrages  to 
which  they  were  subjected.  To  the  last  of  these  (about 
1836)  Major  Delany,  together  with  the  Rev.  Lewis 
Woodson,  his  former  preceptor,  who,  being  senior  col- 
league, was  chosen  to  represent  the  status  of  the  com- 
munity at  large.  On  arriving  at  Philadelphia  they 
found  the  Convention  had  been  transferred  to  New 
York;  and  on  their  arrival  at  that  point  they  were  noti- 
fied that  it  had  been  indefinitely  postponed,  chilling 
the  hopes,  doubtless,  of  our  young  delegate  with  his 
maiden  speech  trembling  on  his  lips,  the  "tremendous 
applause  "  ringing  in  his  ears,  and  other  fancies  legiti- 
mately belonging  to  the  role  of  a  young  man  for  the 
first  time  taking  his  place  as  a  representative  among 
the  elders. 

About  three  years  after,  he  attended  the  Anti-sla-  i 
very  Convention  at  Pittsburg.  At  this  Convention 
were  many  learned  divines  and  a  president  of  one  of 
the  universities  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  Here  he 
brought  upon  himself  the  censure  of  some  of  his 
friends  for  saying  in  the  course  of  his  argument  (con- 
cerning Jewish  slavery  as  compared  with  that  which 


46  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

existed  in  America),  that  "  Onesimus  was  a  bloocl-Jtui 
brother  to  Philemon."  This  extraordinary  and  then 
entirely  new  ground  was  so  unexpected  and  original, 
that  while  many  approached,  congratulating  him  on  his 
able  arguments,  they  expressed  their  regrets  that  he 
ventured  to  use  such  weapons,  as  he  rendered  himself 
liable  to  severe  criticism  from  the  whites.  He  replied 
that,  in  the  course  of  events  soon  to  greet  them,  this 
would  become  an  established  fact.  He  was  not  in- 
correct, only  "imprudent,"  as  the  time  had  not  ar- 
rived to  proclaim  such  bold  opinions.  His  fault,  in 
most  cases,  is  in  expressing  the  thoughts  that  shape  them- 
selves in  his  healthy,  active  brain  far  in  advance  of  the 
time  allotted  by  a  conservative  element  for  receiving  it. 
He  plans  long  before  the  workmen  are  ready  or  will- 
ing to  execute.  Says  that  friend  of  humanity,  Wen- 
dell Phillips,  "AY hat  world-wide  benefactors  these 
*  imprudent'  men  are  —  the  Lovejoys,  the  Browns  the 
Garrisons,  the  saints,  the  martyrs!  How  *  prudent- 
ly '  most  men  creep  into  nameless  graves,  while 
now  and  then  one  or  two  forget  themselves  into  im- 
mortality." 

A  few  years  before  this  Delany  began  the  study  of  med- 
icine, under  the  late  Dr.  Andrew  N.  McDowell,  but  for 
some  cause  did  not  continue  to  completion,  as  he  entered 
practically  upon  dentistry.  The  knowledge  acquired 
in  surgery  he  made  use  of  whenever  immediate  neces- 
sity required  it.  On  one  occasion,  in  1839,  he  went 
down  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  thence  to  Texas. 
While  at  Alexandria  he  met  with  the  chief  of  adven- 
turers, General  Felix  Houston,  whose  attention  was 
attracted  by  witnessing  him  dressing  the  wound  of  a 


MORAL  EFFORTS.  47 

man  stabbed  by  an  intoxicated  comrade.  General 
Houston  offered  him  a  good  position  and  protection  if 
he  would  join  him.  He  declined  the  offer,  and  contin- 
ued his  tour,  spending  several  months  among  the 
slaveholding  Indians  of  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Arkan- 
sas, and  Texas,  viewing  the  "peculiar  institution "  as 
it  existed  in  all  its  varied  phases,  —  its  pride  and 
gloom,  —  not  loving  freedom  less,  but  hating  slavery 
morerif  possible. 

He  watched  closely  the  scenes  through  which  he  had 
passed,  and  the  experience  gained  among  the  slaves  of 
the  south-west  was  carefully  garnered  up  for  future  use- 
fulness. His  present  post  of  duty  on  the  Sea  Island 
of  South  Carolina,  where  he  executes  the  duties  of  his 
office  with  zeal  and  ability,  while  his  busy  brain  con- 
stantly devises  some  new  measure  for  the  advancement 
and  elevation  of  the  newly-recognized  people,  attests 
this  fact. 


48  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER    V. 

EDITORIAL  CAREER. 

HE  returned  to  Pittsburg  in  the  midst  of  the 
presidential  campaign  resulting  in  the  election 
of  General  Harrison.  Finding  political  feeling  high,  as 
it  is  always  on  such  occasions,  he  speedily  received  the 
infection,  and  threw  himself  forward  in  the  political 
arena.  Early  in  1843  he  became  too  well  aware,  by 
sad  experience,  of  the  inability  of  the  colored  people 
to  bring  their  inflicted  wrongs  and  injustices  before  the 
public,  in  consequence  of  not  having  a  press  willing  at 
all  times  to  espouse  their  cause.  In  many  instances  a 
paper  which  would  publish  an  article  derogatory  to 
their  interest  on  one  day,  if  applied  to  on  the  next  to 
publish  for  some  colored  person  an  answer  or  correc- 
tion, the  applicant  would  either  be  told  certain  expres- 
sions must  be  modified,  the  article  is  not  respectful  to 
the  parties,  or  refuse  entirely  on  the  plea  that  "  it  would 
not  be  politic." 

With  these  impediments  he  knew  their  progress 
would  be  retarded,  and  to  this  end  he  began  unassisted 
a  weekly  sheet  under  the  title  of  the  Mystery,  de- 
voted to  the  interest  and  elevation  of  his  race.  Suc- 
cess followed  the  movement ;  the  first  issue  in  all  taken 
was  one  thousand  in  the  city ;  its  circulation  rapidly 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  49 

increased.  For  more  than  one  year  he  conducted  it  as 
editor.  After  sustaining  it  solely  for  nine  months,  he 
transferred  the  proprietorship  to  a  committee  of  six 
gentlemen,  he,  meanwhile,  continuing  as  editor  for 
nearly  four  years. 

It  was  well  conducted,  and  held  no  mean  position  in 
the  community,  especially  where  it  originated. 

The  learned  and  lamented  Dr.  James  McCune  Smith, 
of  New  York,  said  "  it  was  one  of  the  best  papers  ever 
published  among  the  colored  people  of  the  United 
States." 

The  editorials  of  his  journal  elicited  praises  even 
from  its  enemies,  and  were  frequently  transferred  to 
their  columns.  His  description  of  the  great  fire  of 
1844,  in  Pittsburg,  which  laid  a  great  portion  of  that 
manufacturing  city  in  ruins,  was  extensively  quoted  by 
papers  throughout  the  country.  The  original  matter, 
so  frequently  copied,  was  sufficient  to  determine  the 
status  of  his  paper. 

During  the  Mexican  war  he  bore  his  part  in  the 
field  against  the  knights  of  the  quill,  for  his  stand 
against  the  Polk  administration  was  so  decided  that  on 
more  than  one  occasion  the  subject  was  strongly 
combated. 

Much  good  was  done  through  the  influence  of  that 
little  sheet,  and  it  is  indisputable  that  to  its  influence 
originated  the  Avery  Fund.  Once,  on  the  subject  of 
female  education,  through  the  columns  of  his  paper,  he 
argued  that  "  men  were  never  raised  in  social  position 
above  the  level  of  women ;  therefore  men  could  not  be 
elevated  without  woman's  elevation  ;  further,  that 
among  the  nations  of  the  world  where  women  were 
4 


50  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  B.  DELANY. 

kept  in  ignorance,  great  philosophers  or  statesmen 
failed  to  be  produced,  as  a  general  rule.  And  under 
the  then  existing  state  of  female  education  among 
the  Americans  of  African  descent,  the  hope  of  seeing 
them  equal  with  the  more  favored  class  of  citizens 
would  be  without  proper  basis. 

After  reading  his  editorial  on  the  social  requirements 
of  the  colored  people,  it  is  said  that  the  Rev.  Charles 
Avery  determined  to  do  something  tangible  for  them. 
The  reverend  gentleman,  after  consulting  some  of  the 
most  prominent  colored  men,  among  whom  was  the 
Bev.  John  Peck,  established  a  school  for  males  and 
females.  This  was  the  first  step  towards  that  which  is 
now  known  as  Avery's  College,  at  the  head  of  which 
was  placed,  as  senior  professor,  Martin  A.  Freeman, 
M.  A.  (now  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  University 
of  Liberia).  He  was  succeeded  by  George  B.  Vashon, 
M.  A.,  a  most  accomplished  scholar.  The  Bev.  Mr. 
Avery  did  not  stop  in  the  work  so  well  begun.  He 
died  in  1858,  bequeathing  in  his  will  "one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  education  and  elevation 
of  the  free  colored  people  of  the  United  States  and  Can- 
ada, one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  for  the  enlighten- 
ment and  civilization  of  the  African  race  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Africa,"  all  in  trust  to  the  American  Missionary 
Association  of  New  York  city  ;  making  in  all  a  grand 
bequest  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of 
the  college.  We  do  not  claim  more  than  is  evident  — 
that  the  Mystery  deserves  the  credit  of  having  brought 
these  wants  before  the  public,  and  one  humanitarian 
responded  to  the  call  most  liberally. 

While  he  was  editor,  on  the  Centennial  Anniversary 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  51 

of  Benjamin  Franklin's  birthday,  he  received  from  the 
committee  an  invitation,  among  the  editorial  corps,  to 
attend  an  entertainment  given  by  the  Pittsburg  Typo- 
graphical Society  at  the  Exchange  Hotel.  .  At  the 
head  of  this,  as  president  of  the  occasion,  was  an  hon- 
orable ex-commissioner  to  Europe  under  President 
Tyler,  and  the  position  of  vice-president  was  filled  by 
a  judge  of  the  County  Court.  This  mark  of  courtesy 
to  him,  in  the  days  when  Slavery  held  her  carnival  over 
the  land,  will  serve  to  indicate  the  standing  of  his 
paper  and  the  triumph  of  genius  over  brutal  prejudice. 

While  editor  of  the  Mystery,  he  was  involved  in 
a  suit,  the  occasion  of  which  will  serve  the  double  pur- 
pose of  showing  the  estimate  placed  upon  the  merit  of 
his  paper,  and  the  respect  in  which  the  ability  and 
character  of  the  man  were  held  in  Pittsburg. 

It  happened,  in  the  warmth  of  his  zeal  for  the  free- 
dom of  the  enslaved,  that  he,  through  the  columns  of  his 
paper,  charged  a  certain  colored  man  with  treachery  to 
his  race  by  assisting  the  slave-catchers,  who,  at  that 
time,  frequented  Pennsylvania  and  other  free  states. 

The  accused  entered  a  suit  for  libel,  through  advice, 
probably,  of  some  of  his  accomplices,  who  were  whites, 
as  it  is  evident  his  calling  would  preclude  the  possi- 
bility of  the  individual  to  think  himself  aggrieved. 

The  presiding  judge,  before  whom  the  case  was 
tried,  having  no  sympathy  with  abolitionists,  and  less 
with  that  class  of  negroes  represented  by  Martin  Dela- 
ny,  took  great  pains  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the 
jury,  in  his  charge  to  them,  the  extent  of  the  offence  of 
libel.  After  their  verdict  of  guilty  was  rendered,  a  fine 
of  two  hundred  dollars,  together  with  the  cost  of  prose- 


52  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

cntion,  which  amounted  to  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  was  imposed.  In  view  of  a  fine  so  unusu- 
ally high  for  that  which  was  considered  a  just  expo- 
sure of  an  evil  which  then  existed  to  the  detriment  of 
one  class  of  the  inhabitants,  an  appeal  was  immediately 
made,  by  the  press  of  Pittsburg,  for  a  public  subscrip- 
tion, in  order  that  it  might  be  borne  in  common,  instead 
of  allowing  it  to  rest  solely  upon  this  faithful  sentinel. 

A  subscription  list  was  opened  at  the  office  of  the 
Pittsburg  Daily  Despatch,  which  led  off  first  in  the 
appeal. 

The  chivalric  governor,  Joseph  Ritner,  was  in  office 
then  —  him  for  whom  freedom's  sweetest  bard  invoked 
his  muse  to  link  his  name  with  immortality.  About 
one  week  after  the  suit,  and  before  the  sum  could  be 
raised,  the  governor  remitted  the  fine.  This  was  occa- 
sioned through  a  petition  originating  with  his  able 
counsel,  the  late  William  E.  Austin,  which  was  signed 
not  only  by  all  of  the  lawyers  of  the  court,  but  it  is 
said  by  the  bench  of  judges ;  thus  leaving  the  costs  only 
to  be  paid  by  him. 

The  success  of  this  suit,  however,  served  to  embolden 
the  slave-hunters ;  and  again  did  this  faithful  sentinel 
give  the  alarm  ;  but  this  time  his  language,  while  it  un- 
mistakably pointed  to  the  guilty  party,  was  carefully 
chosenvin  order  to  avoid  litigation.  These,  determined 
to  drive  him  from  his  post,  so  formidable  to  them,  still 
so  valiantly  held  by  him,  again  entered  suit  against 
him.  Their  former  success  established  no  precedent 
for  the  second. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  case,  another  jurist  sat  in 
judgment,  the  term  of  the  pro-slavery  judge  having 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  53 

expired.  In  his  charge  to  the  jury,  the  eminent  judge. 
William  B.  McClure,  made  special  reference  to  the  po- 
sition of  the  defendant,  to  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  his 
race,  and  his  usefulness  in  the  community.  Then,  ad- 
dressing himself  more  pointedly  to  the  jury,  he  added, 
"  I  am  well  acquainted  with  Dr.  Delany,  and  have  a 
very  high  respect  for  him.  I  regard  him  as  a  gentle- 
man and  a  very  useful  citizen.  No  Pittsburger,  at 
least,  will  believe  him  capable  of  willingly  doing  injus- 
tice to  any  one,  especially  his  own  race.  I  cannot, 
myself,  after  a  careful  examination,  see  in  this  case  any- 
thing to  justify  a  verdict  against  the  defendant."  This 
resulted  in  a  verdict  of  acquittal  without  the  jury 
leaving  the  box. 

On  another  occasion,  h'e  was  the  recipient  of  forensic 
compliment,  facetiously  given,  because  also  of  the 
source  whence  it  emanated,  and  because  he  was  not 
present  at  the  court  to  suggest  the  remarks  of  the 
attorney  in  the  midst  of  the  pleading. 

A  highly  respected  colored  man  was  under  trial, 
charged  with  a  serious  offence.  His  counsel,  an  influ- 
ential lawyer,  Cornelius  Danagh,  Esq.,  afterwards  at- 
torney general  of  the  state,  under  Governor  William 
T.  Johnson,  of  Pennsylvania,  declared  the  prosecution 
as  arising  from  prejudice  of  color  against  his  client. 
The  prosecution  was  conducted  by  the  late  Colonel 
Samuel  W.  Black,  who  served  under  General  McClel- 
lan,  and  fell  in  the  seven  days'  fight  before  Richmond. 
"  They  tell  you,"  said  he,  in  his  peculiarly  forcible 
style,  • "  that  we  have  brought  on  this  prosecution 
through  prejudice  to  color.  I  deny  it :  neither  does 
the  learned  counsel  believe  it.  Look  at  Martin  Delany, 


54  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

of  this  city,  whom  everybody  knows,  and  the  gentle- 
man knows  only  to  respect  him.  Would  any  person  in 
this  community  make  such  a  charge  against  him  ? 
Could  such  a  prosecution  be  gotten  up  against  him? 
No,  it  could  not,  and  the  learned  counsel  knows  it 
could  not,  and  Delany  is  blacker  than  a  whole  genera- 
tion of  the  color  of  the  defendant,  boiled  down  to  a 
quart." 

It  is  probable  that  no  portion  of  this  reference  to 
him  pleased  him  better  than  that  which  alluded  to  his 
blackness. 

While  conducting  the  paper,  another  production  of 
his  elicited  much  discussion,  and  to  which  he  still 
holds  —  that  of  the  population  of  the  world.  He  claims 
that  two  thirds  are  colored,  and  the  remainder  white ; 
that  there  are  but  three  original  races  —  Mongolian, 
Ethiopian  or  African,  and  Caucasian  or  European,  as 
yellow,  black,  and  white,  naming  them  in  the  order  as 
given  in  the  genealogy  of  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth,  all 
others  being  but  the  offspring,  either  pure  or  mixed, 
of  the  other  three,  as  the  Indian  or  American  race  of 
geography,  being  pure  Mongolian,  and  the  Malay 
being  a  mixture  of  the  three,  Mongolian,  African, 
and  Caucasian,  the  people  of  the  last  varying  in  com- 
plexion and  other  characteristics  from  pure  African, 
through  Mongolian,  to  pure  Caucasian. 

On  the  appearance  of  this  article,  containing  the 
above  novel  declaration  of  the  preponderance  of  num- 
bers of  the  colored  races  in  the  world,  a  learned  officer 
of  the  university  was  waited  upon  in  the  city,  on  one 
occasion,  and  earnestly  inquired  of  concerning  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  statement,  desiring,  if  it  were  incorrect, 
to  contradict  it  at  once.  It  was  never  contradicted. 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  55 

After  the  return  of  Mr.  Frederick  Douglass  from 
England,  in  the  summer  of  1846,  he  visited  Pittsburg, 
where  he  concluded  to  form  a  copartnership  in  a  print- 
ing establishment  with  him.  Disposing  of  his  interest 
in  the  Mystery,  we  next  find  him  aiding,  by  means  of 
his  talents  and  energy,  the  sustaining  of  a  paper  issuing 
from  Rochester,  New  York,  known  as  the  North  Star, 
the  early  name  of  the  subsequent  Frederick  Douglass 
paper.  To  advance  the  interest  of  this,  he  travelled, 
holding  meetings,  and  lecturing,  so  as  to  obtain  sub- 
scribers, and  endeavored  to  effect  a  permanent  estab- 
lishment of  a  newspaper,  as  a  general  organ  of  the 
colored  people,  on  a  secure  basis,  by  raising  an  en- 
dowment for  it,  being  convinced  that  this  alone  would 
insure  its  successful  continuance. 

The  winter  of  1848-9  found  him  in  the  eastern  part 
of  Pennsylvania,  taking  part  in  anti-slavery  meet- 
ings and  conventions,  ably  seconded  by  the  eloquent 
Charles  L.  Remond,  to  whom,  he  says,  the  anti-slavery 
cause  of  New  England  is  much  indebted  for  the  break- 
ing down  of  the  stupid  prejudice,  which  once  existed 
on  the  land  and  water  transportations,  against  colored 
persons. 

One  of  the  means  resorted  to  —  so  zealous  were  the 
colored  people  to  sustain  the  rising  North  Star  —  was 
the  holding  of  fairs  in  Philadelphia,  supported  by  a 
number  of  the  most  influential  colored  ladies  of  that 
city.  At  the  first  of  these,  December,  1848,  it  was,  that 
William  and  Ellen  Craft,  now  in  England,  the  first  vic- 
tims selected  under  the  atrocious  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
(enacted  later),  made  their  appearance,  and  under  cir- 
cumstances so  peculiar  as  to  become  historic  on  both 


56  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELAXY, 

sides  of  the  Atlantic.  They  were  introduced  by  him 
to  the  visitors  at  the  fair  in  an  appropriate  address,  and 
in  such  a  way  that  their  mode  of  escape  was  carefully 
concealed,  but  which  was  afterwards  communicated  to 
the  Liberator  by  an  anti-slavery  man.  Through  this 
their  whereabouts  became  known  to  Dr.  Collins,  of 
Macon,  Georgia,  and  as  soon  as  the  enactment  was 
completed,  a  few  years  after,  he  immediately,  through 
his  agents  sent  north,  placed  all  Boston  under  obliga- 
gation  to  arrest  them. 

Hundreds  of  special  or  assistant  marshals  were  ap- 
pointed in  the  midst  of  a  government  which  thundered 
her  volleys  of  welcome  to  the  Hungarian  governor,  a 
fugitive  from  Austrian  tyranny !  And  now,  in  all  our 
broad  free  America,  there  was  no  place  of  security  from 
southern  slavery  for  these. 

For  four  long  days  these  obsequious  marshals,  whom 
the  slave  power  doubtless  rewarded  in  after  years  with 
starvation  and  death  in  their  loathsome  prisons,  prowled 
around  the  dwelling  in  which  the  brave  Craft  resided, 
till  at  length  that  lion-hearted  reformer  and  ever-de- 
voted friend  of  the  negro,  Wendell  Phillips,  persuaded 
the  daring  fugitive,  all  things  being  prepared,  to  take 
passage  on  a  vessel,  his  wife  being  already  on  board ; 
and  thus  they  escaped  to  England,  where  they  were 
received  under  the  auspices  of  the  Baroness  Went- 
worth,  and  are  now  enjoying  a  fair  share  of  prosperity 
and  all  the  advantages  of  British  citizenship. 

During  his  tour  in  behalf  of  the  North  Star,  in  July, 
1848,  when  America's  sympathy  yearned  towards  the 
people  of  Europe,  in  the  name  of  whose  freedom  the 
thrones  were  trembling,  a  mob  demanded  his  life  in  a 
village  of  Northern  Ohio. 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  57 

They  first  demanded  of  him  a  speech,  in  a  derisive 
manner,  which  he  refused.  In  revenge  they  circulated 
a  report  that  he  was  an  abolitionist  and  amalgama- 
tionist.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  and  soon  a  mob, 
consisting  of  nearly  every  male  in  the  village,  and 
neighboring  farmers,  attracted  by  a  blazing  fire  which 
they  had  kindled  of  store  boxes  and  tar,  in  the  middle 
of  the  street,  gathered,  shouting,  swearing,  and  de- 
manding him  of  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel,  who  had 
closed  his  doors  on  the  appearance  of  the  rabble. 

A  barrel  of  tar  was  contributed  by  some  person,  and 
it  was  decided  to  saturate  his  clothes,  set  him  on  fire, 
and  let  him  run  !  Interference  in  his  behalf  was  for- 
bidden, and  threats  were  made  against  the  hotel 
keeper,  who  refused  to  eject  him.  The  movement  to 
break  the  doors  in  being  threatened  and  attempted,  the 
landlord  addressed  them  from  the  window  to  the  effect 
that  it  was  his  own  property,  and  that  he  would  not 
turn  any  well-behaved  person  from  his  house  into  the 
street,  and  if  his  property  was  injured,  as  was  threat- 
ened, he  would  have  redress  by  law.  As  the  yells  and 
threats  became  more  deafening,  he  saw  no  retreat,  and 
determined  to  yield  his  life  as  dearly  as  possible. 
Against  the  entreaties  and  advice  of  the  proprietor 
and  family,  he  found  his  way  into  the  kitchen :  seizing 
there  a  butcher's  knife  and  a  hatchet,  he  returned, 
and  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  stairs:  hav- 
ing within  his  reach  some  chairs,  he  stood  awaiting 
the  issue  with  all  the  fire  of  his  nature  aroused. 

A  gentleman  friend  travelling  with  him,  by  blood 
and  complexion  a  quadroon,  was  advised  by  Dr.  Delany 
to  leave  him  by  making  his  exit  through  the  back  door, 


58  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DEL  ANT. 

as  he  would  be  mistaken  for  a  white.  His  friend  re- 
fused to  abandon  him.  The  night  was  far  spent;  but, 
the  clamor  still  continuing,  the  mob  might  have  execut- 
ed their  fiendish  purpose,  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely 
arrival  of  one  of  their  number,  a  veteran  soldier,  whom 
they  called  Bill.  "  Stop  ! "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  came 
up  to  the  spot  in  time  to  hear  the  final  vote,  "  to  break 
into  the  hotel,  bring  the  nigger  out,  and  burn  him  ! " 
"  Do  you  see  this  arm  ?  "  said  he,  pointing  to  the  re- 
maining stump  of  a  lost  arm.  "  I  have  fought  in  Mex- 
ico, and  I  am  no  coward  ;  but  I  had  rather  face  an  army 
in  the  field  than  enter  the  room  of  that  negro  after  the 
threats  you  have  made  in  his  hearing,  knowing  the 
fate  that  awaits  him.  Didn't  you  hear  how  that  black 
fellow  talked  ?  These  are  educated  negroes,  and  have 
travelled,  and  know  as  much  as  white  men ;  and  any 
man  who  knows  as  much  as  they  do  won't  let  any  one 
force  himself  into  their  room  in  the  night  and  leave 
it  alive  !  You  may  take  my  word  for  that !  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  have  told  you ;  you  may  do  as  you  please, 
but  I  shan't  stay  to  see  it."  During  this  time  they  stood 
patiently  listening  to  Bill ;  and  as  he  concluded,  they 
shouted,  "  We'll  take  Bill's  advice,  and  adjourn  till 
morning."  They  gradually  dispersed,  after  leaving  a 
committee  to  watch  and  report  when  the  niggers 
would  attempt  to  leave.  At  the  dawn,  however,  the 
landlord  had  a  buggy  at  the  door  for  his  guests,  and  the 
few  young  men  on  the  spot  confined  their  vengeance 
to  abusive  epithets  and  threats  if  they  should  ever 
attempt  to  enter  the  town  again.  The  mob  in  'New 
York,  during  the  war,  showed  the. evil  against  which  the 
colored  people  were  long  accustomed  to  contend. 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  59 

One  thing  worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  notice  oc- 
curred during  this  editorial  existence,  which  we  will 
relate  here. 

It  happened  that,  while  travelling  in  behalf  of  the 
paper,  he  stopped  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  and  attended  a 
trial  in  the  Supreme  Court,  Justice  John  McLean 
presiding,  before  whom  Dr.  Comstock,  a  gentleman  of 
respectability  and  wealth,  and  others  of  that  state, 
were  arraigned  on  charge  of  aiding  and  abetting  the 
escape  of  a  family  of  blacks  from  Kentucky,  known  as 
the  Crosswaits.  In  the  case  it  had  been  proven  satis- 
factorily that  Dr.  Comstock  had  nothing  to  do  with 
their  escape.  Having  heard  of  the  affair  (being  two 
or  three  miles  distant),  he  came  to  the  scene  of  con- 
fusion just  in  time  to  hear  the  threats  and  regrets  of 
the  defeated  slave-hunter,  Grossman.  The  doctor 
stood  there  enjoying  the  discomfiture,  and  expressed 
himself  to  a  friend  that  he  hoped  "they  would  not  be 
overtaken."  For  this  Judge  McLean  ruled  him  guilty 
as  an  accomplice  in  the  escape,  stating  that  it  was  "  the 
duty  of  all  good  citizens  to  do  all  they  could  to  prevent 
it ;  that  whether  housing  or  feeding,  supplying  means 
or  conveyances,  throwing  himself  or  other  obstructions 
in  the  way,  or  standing  quietly  by  with  his  hands  in 
his  breeches  pockets,  smiling  consent,  it  was  equally 
aiding  and  abetting,  hindering  and  obstructing,  in  the 
escape  of  the  slaves,  and  therefore  such  person  was 
reprehensible  before  the  law  as  a  particeps  criminis, 
and  must  be  held  to  answer."  This  novel  decision  of 
the  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  so  startling  to 
him  at  that  time  —  for,  alas!  decisions  more  wound- 
ing to  the  honor  of  the  nation  have  since  emanated 


60  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

from  the  Supreme  Court  —  that  he  hastened  to  re- 
port to  the  North  Star  the  proceedings  of  the  trial, 
which  he  had  taken  down  while  sitting  in  the  court- 
room. This  publication,  like  a  wronged  and  angry 
Nemesis,  seemed  to  reach  various  points  in  time  to  be 
made  available,  especially  by  those  attending  the  great 
Free  Soil  Convention  at  Buffalo.  Everywhere  was  the 
infamous  decision  discussed  with  more  or  less  warmth, 
according  to  the  political  creed  of  the  debaters :  then 
the  reliability  of  the  writer  received  some  attention. 
The  North  Star  may  have  been  sufficient  authority,  had 
that  correspondent  who  reported  the  McLean  decis- 
ion been  Mr.  Frederick  Douglass,  who  had  both  "credit 
and  renown."  While  the  initials  of  the  undersigned 
could  be  known  from  the  title  page  of  the  paper  (as 
the  full  names  of  each  appeared  as  editors  and  proprie- 
tors), "  Who  is  he  ? "  became  the  subject  of  inquiry 
among  the  throng  of  delegates,  who  could  not  be  cen- 
sured for  not  knowing  but  one  black  man  of  ability 
and  character  in  the  United  States,  and  supposing  it 
to  be  impossible  that  there  should  be  more  than  one. 

The  Mass  Convention  assembled  outside,  supposed 
to  be  forty  thousand,  filling  the  public  square,  hotels, 
and  many  of  the  streets,  about  six  thousand  of  whom, 
occupying  the  great  Oberlin  tent,  which  had  been  ob- 
tained for  the  purpose,  and  constituting  the  acting  body 
of  the  Mass  Convention,  while  four  hundred  and  fifty 
of  the  credited  delegates  were  detailed  as  the  execu- 
tive of  the  great  body,  and  assembled  in  a  church 
near  by,  before  whom  all  business  was  brought  and 
prepared  before  presenting  it  to  the  body  for  action. 

The  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  late  minister  to 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  61 

the  court  of  St.  James,  was  president  of  Mass  Con- 
vention. The  Hon.  Salmon  P.  Chase;  now  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  United  States,  chairman  or  president  of  the 
executive  body.  Strange  to  say,  in  an  assemblage  like 
this,  so  vast  and  renowned,  the  report  from  the  col- 
umns of  the  North  Star  found  its  way,  and,  as  sub- 
sequently appeared,  was  tbe  subject  of  weighty  dis- 
cussion. We  give  the  marked  circumstance.  He  says 
that  "while  quietly  seated  in  the  midst  of  the  great  as- 
sembly, a  tall  gentleman  in  the  habiliments  of  a  clergy- 
man, and  of  a  most  attractive,  Christian-like  counte- 
nance, was  for  a  long  time  observed  edging  his  way, 
as  well  as  he  could,  between  the  packed  seats,  now  and 
again  stooping  and  whispering,  as  if  inquiring.  Pres- 
ently he  was  lost  sight  of  for  a  moment:  soon  a  gentle- 
man behind  him  touched  him  on  the  shoulder,  called 
his  attention,  when  the  gentleman  in  question  walked 
towards  him,  stooping  with  the  paper  in  his  hand,  point- 
ed to  the  article  concerning  Justice  McLean's  decision, 
and  inquired,  "  Are  you  Dr.  M.  R.  Delany  ?  " 
"  I  am,  sir,"  replied  he. 

"  Are  you  one  of  the  editors  of  the  North  Star,  sir?" 
"Yes,  sir,  I  am,"  he   answered,   feeling,  very  likely, 
most  uncomfortable  by  this  attention. 

"  Are  these  your  initials,  and  did  you  write  this  arti- 
cle concerning  Justice  McLean  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
in  the  case  of  Dr.  Comstock  and  others,  and  the  Cross- 
wait  family?"  continued  his  interlocutor. 

"  That  is  my  article,  and  these  are  my  initials,  sir." 

"  I've  but  one  question  more  to  ask  you.      Did  you 

hear  Judge  McLean  deliver  this  decision,  or  did   you 

receive  the  information  from  a  third  party  ?  "  demanded 

the  questioner. 


62  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

"I  sat  in  the  court-room  each  day  during  the  entire 
trial,  and  reported  only  what  I  heard,  having  written 
down  everything  as  it  occurred,"  returned  Dr.  Delany. 

"  That  is  all,  sir ;  I  am  satisfied,"  concluded  the 
stranger,  departing  from  the  great  pavilion,  and  going 
directly  across  the  street  to  the  church,  wherein  sat  the 
executive  or  business  part  of  the  convention,  leaving 
the  corresponding  editor  of  the  North  Star  in  a  most 
aggravated  state  of  conjectures. 

The  all-important  business  at  the  church,  then  under 
consideration  before  them,  was  the  nomination  of  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency.  The  session  was  long 
and  important.  No  report  of  the  proceedings  or  their 
progress  had  been  received  during  the  day.  Near  sun- 
set a  representative  of  the  council  entered  the  pavilion, 
and  announced  from  the  stage  that  they  would  soon  be 
ready  to  give  the  convention  the  result  of  their  delib- 
erations. Soon  after  there  was  a  great  move  forward, 
and,  amidst  deafening  applause,  the  Hon.  Salmon  P. 
Chase  ascended  the  platform,  and  announced  that,  for 
reasons  sufficiently  satisfactory  to  the  executive  council, 
the  name  of  Judge  John  McLean,  of  Ohio,  had  been 
dropped  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  of  Martin  Van  Buren  sub- 
stituted ;  and  he  had  been  selected  by  the  council  to 
make  this  statement,  from  considerations  of  the  rela- 
tionship which  he  bore  to  the  rejected  nominee ;  so 
that  his  friends  in  the  convention  might,  understand 
that  it  was  no  act  of  political  injustice  by' which  the 
change  was  made. 

Probably,  apart  from  the  executive  body,  none  knew 
at  the  time  the  cause  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  name 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  63 

of  the  judge.  Whether  or  not  his  statement,  made 
doubly  eloquent  by  this  infamous  decision,  added  its 
weight  to  stay  the  march  to  the  presidential  goal  of  an 
ambitious,  soulless  man,  we  know  that  he  was  rejected, 
and  Martin  Van  Buren  received  the  preferment.  And, 
as  Martin  Delany  never  claimed  of  him  a  reward  for 
the  service  unconsciously  rendered,  in  the  event  of  his 
election,  as  is  customary,  it  is  likely  he  was  forgotten, 
to  be  remembered,  however,  in  the  better  days  of  the 
nation,  and  by  its  noblest  president. 

From  the  Free  Soil  Convention  he  and  a  number 
of  the  colored  delegates  went  directly  to  Cleveland, 
to  attend  a  national  convention  of  colored  men.  They 
assembled  in  the  court-room,  granted  to  them  by  the 
proper  authority,  the  court  and  bar  having  gener- 
ously adjourned  for  the  purpose  -—  a  mark  of  courtesy 
not  often,  if  ever,  recorded  at  the  conventions  of  this 
color.  And,  what  was  equally  as  remarkable,  the  citi- 
zens, represented  by  gentlemen  of  position,  on  the  last 
day  of  the  convention,  took  a  vote  in  the  house  ex- 
pressive of  their  satisfaction  with  the  entire  proceed- 
ings of  the  delegates. 

While  travelling  to  advance  the  interests  of  his 
journal,  a  remarkable  political  foresight  on  his  part 
was  manifested  by  the  publication  of  a  letter  in  its 
columns.  It  established  for  him,  ever  after,  a  char- 
acter for  observation  of  national  and  international 
polity,  in  which  he  delights  to  search  out  and  com- 
pare, not  at  that  time  accorded  to  one  of  his  race. 
This  attracted  the  attention  of  many  of  the  leading 
men,  and  their  inquiries  led  him  to  a  conclusion  which 
was  soon  verified  by  action,  as  the  following  editorial 


64  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

letter  to  the  North  Star   of  February  10    1848,  will 
show :  — 

Letter  to  the  North  Star. 

"The  recent  republication  of  the  letter  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  to  Sir  John  J.  Burgoyne,  a  major  gen- 
eral in  the  British  army,  respecting  the  dangerous 
exposure  of  the  English  coast  to  French  invasion,  has 
created  quite  an  alarm,  as  well  as  thrown  into  specula- 
tion the  political  world.  Neither  is  it.  hard  for  any 
who  at  all  understand  political  economy,  especially  the 
present  history  of  the  political  world,  to  determine  the 
cause, at  such  a  time  as  this,  when  'England  is  at  peace 
with  all  nations,'  and  especially  in  friendly  relations 
with  France,  of  the  issue  of  such  a  document  by  the 
duke. 

"  Louis  Philippe,  King  of  France,  is  certainly,  in  my 
estimation,  a  great  politician,  having  a  great  portion  of 
the  shrewdness,  with  all  the  intrigue,  of  Talleyrand,  and 
inheriting  a  greater  share  of  duplicity  than  most  men 
living.  And,  what  no  monarch  of  France,  from  Louis  I. 
to  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  was  ever  able  to  effect  by 
political  intrigue,  power,  and  the  sword,  Louis  Philippe 
is  about  to  accomplish  .by  duplicity,  yet  carried  out  in 
a  manner  the  least  to  be  suspected. 

"It  is  known  that  France  has  ever  desired  a  univer- 
sal mastery,  as  shown  by  the  Wellington  letter,  having 
at  different  periods  occupied  every  capital  in  Europe, 
save  that  of  England.  The  extension  of  a  royal  family 
over  different  kingdoms  has,  in  Europe,  ever  been  re- 
garded as  a  most  dangerous  precedent,  and  more 
dreaded  by  rival  powers  than  fleets  and  armies.  For 


EDITORIAL  CAREER.  65 

the  consummation  of  a  project  of  such  mighty  magni- 
tude, the  court  at  Versailles  has  resorted  to  means 
unparalleled,  at  least  in  modern  ages.  This  subtle 
monarch,  who  has  neither  the  propensity  nor  talents 
for  military  achievements,  commenced  his  rapid  strides 
to  power,  first  by  the  crusade  of  his  eldest  son,  the 
Duke  of  Orleans,  in  1833,  upon  the  northern  nations 
of  Africa,  whom,  with  little  or  no  resistance,  he  ex- 
pected to  subdue ;  and,  this  once  being  effected,  would 
give  a  pretext  for  a  powerful  fleet  to  cruise  in  the 
Indian  Ocean  and  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  continually 
act  as  a  check  upon  the  formidable  naval  force  of 
Great  Britain.  But,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  the 
resistance  met  with  from  Abd-el  Kader  foiled  and  baffled 
that  great  project.  In  the  mean  time,  the  duke  was 
killed,  being  thrown  from  his  carriage. 

"The  next  effort  was  in  1835,  a  demonstration  upon 
the  republic  of  Hayti,  for  which  purpose  an  expedi- 
tion was  fitted  out,  of  which  his  second  son,  Prince  de 
Joinville,  was  the  chief,  aided  by  Baron  Las  Casses,  wifh 
whom  it  was  left  optional  whether  that  demonstration 
should  be  made  by  treaty  or  bombardment.  But  the 
prince  and  baron,  having  before  their  minds'  eye  the 
fate  of  General  Le  Clerc,  the  greatest  captain  and  mili- 
tary tactician  under  Napoleon,  considered  it  no  disgrace 
to  enter  into  friendly  negotiations  with  the  warlike 
republic.  Leaving  Hayti,  without  an  opportunity  of 
testing  the  military  skill  of  the  prince,  the  next  attack 
was  in  1836,  upon  Vera  Cruz,  by  storming  the  Castle 
of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  In  this  the  squadron  was  quite 
successful,  the  Mexicans,  under  Santa  Anna,  being  re- 
pulsed, with  the  loss  of  a  leg  or  a  foot  by  that  chieftain. 
5 


66  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

"  The  prince  having  proved  his  military  ability, 
the  old  king,  as  the  first  link  in  the  great  chain  by 
which  the  fidelity  of  foreign  powers  was  to  be  secured 
to  France,  manages  to  consummate  a  marriage  be- 
tween his  son,  the  Prince  de  Joinville,  and  Clementina, 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Brazil.  This  great  link 
being  welded  in  order  to  dupe  England  into  an  indif- 
ferent observation  of  his  rapid  strides,  the  masterly 
step  was  to  effect  the  union  of  Prince  Augustus  Coburg, 
brother  to  Prince  Albert,  husband  to  the  Queen  of 
England,  with  his  second  daughter.  Another  link 
being  completed,  he  leagues  in  the  ties  of  matrimony  the 
Duke  de  Montpensier,  his  third  son,  to  Isabella,  Queen 
of  Spain.  No  sooner  is  this  effected  —  the  last  link  of 
the  great  cable  being  complete  —  than  the  health  of 
the  Infanta  Isabella  becomes  impaired,  or  she,  at  all 
events,  grows  weary  of  public  life ;  and  a  proposition 
is  at  once  made  to  abdicate  the  throne  in  favor  of  her 
spouse,  Duke  de  Montpensier.  Of  course,  this  at  once 
giVes  Spain  to  the  crown  of  France,  which  will  thereby 
not  only  hold  the  key  of  Europe,  but  places  Cuba,  the 
key  of  the  western  hemisphere,  also  in  her  hands. 

"The  last  stroke  of  the  hammer  being  struck,  all 
France  being  upon  her  feet,  each  officer  at  his  station, 
and  each  man  at  his  post,  Loujs  Philippe,  looking  upon 
his  success  as  sure,  as  the  crowning  scene  in  the  drama, 
effects  the  appointment  of  Prince  de  Joinville  to  the 
Lord  Admiralty  of  the  navy  of  France  —  an  office  of 
the  same  import  and  rank,  but  called  by  another  name. 
All  this  is  but  a  prelude  to  the  design  of  France  upon 
Europe.  Of  course  England  would  be  the  first  point 
of  attack ;  and  there  is  no  man  living  more  capable, 


EDITORIAL  CAKEER.  67 

and  none  who  would  so  quickly  discover  and  effectually 
foil  the  designs  of  the  crafty  old  monarch  as  the  invin- 
cible conqueror  of  Napoleon. 

"  But  are  we  not  interested  deeply  in  these  move- 
ments ?  Most  certainly  we  are.  England,  at  present, 
is  the  masterpiece  of  the  world.  Her  every  example  is 
to  promote  the  cause  of  freedom ;  and,  had  she  pos- 
sessed the  same  principles  during  the  revolutionary 
period,  in  every  place  that  she  occupied,  slavery  would 
have  been  abolished.  Hence  slavery  in  this  country 
could  not  have  stood ;  for,  the  slave  once  tasting  free- 
dom, all  the  powers  of  earth  and  hell  could  not  have 
reduced  him  again  to  servitude. 

"  But  how  with  France  ?  She  is  a  slaveholding 
po\ver,  deeply  engaged  in  human  traffic,  favoring  and 
fostering  the  institution  of  slavery  wherever  she  holds 
the  power  or  influence ;  and,  with  the  able  politician 
and  learned  statesman  Guizot  at  the  helm  of  affairs, 
the  cause  and  progress  of  liberty  would  be  retarded 
for  years. 

"  Yours,  in  behalf  of  our  oppressed  and  down-trodden 
countrymen, 

«M.  R.  D." 


68  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
£KACTISING  MEDICINE. 

/A  FTER  a  brilliant  and  useful  editorial  career,  De- 
J.JL  lany  dissolved  his  connection  with  the  North  Star 
on  the  1st  of  June,  1849.  An  incident  in  connection 
with  this  is  related,  which  seems  appropriate  here,  as 
illustrating  his  earnestness  in  behalf  of  the  paper, 
though  personally  disinterested. 

On  his  leaving  the  North  Star,  he  was  solicited, 
through  correspondence  from  Ohio,  to  take  charge  of 
a  paper  in  the  interest  of  the  colored  people  of  that 
state.  This  he  declined;  and,  after  setting  forth  his  rea- 
sons why  but  one  newspaper  as  an  organ  of  the  colored 
people  could  be  sustained  at  that  time,  he  said.  "Let 
that  one  be  the  North  Star,  with  Frederick  Douglass 
at  the  head." 

We  next  find  him  returning  to  his  home  at  Pitts- 
burg,  not  for  the  purpose  of  resting  upon  the  laurels 
so  fairly  won,  but  rather  for  recuperating  his  forces  for 
I  the  field  of  toil  again.     Here  he  resumed  his  favorite 
I  study  of  medicine,  and,  upon  the  strength  of  the  prc- 
/  ceptorship  of  his  former  instructors,  Drs.  Joseph  P. 
I  Gazzan  and  Francis  J.  Lemoyne,  he  was  received  into 
the  medical  department  of  Harvard   College,  having 
been  previously  refused  admission,  on  application,  to 


PRACTISING  MEDICINE.  69 

the  Pennsylvania  University,  Jefferson  College,  and 
the  medical  colleges  of  Albany  and  Geneva,  N.  Y. 

After  leaving  Harvard,  he  travelled  westward,  and 
lectured  on  physiological  subjects  —  the  comparative 
anatomical  and  physical  conformation  of  the  cranium 
of  the  Caucasian  and  negro  races,  —  besides  giving 
class  lectures.  These  he  rendered  successful.  While 
his  arguments  oh  these  subjects  were  in  strict  conform- 
ity to  acknowledged  scientific  principles,  they  are  also 
marked  by  his  peculiar  and  original  theories.  For 
instance,  he  argues  on  this  subject  that  the  pigment 
which  makes  the  complexion  of  the  African  black  is 
essentially  the  same  in  properties  as  that  which  makes 
the  ruddy  complexion  of  the  European,  the  African's 
being  concentrated  rouge,  which  is  black.  This  he 
urges  by  illustrations  considered  scientifically  true.  He 
maintains  that  these  truths  will  yet  be  acknowledged 
by  writers  on  physiology. 

On  his  return  to  Pittsburg,  after  the  completion  of 
his  lecturing  tour,  lie  entered  upon  the  duties  of  a 
physician,  for  which  his  native  benevolence  and  scien- 
tific ardor  eminently  qualified  him.  Here  he  was 
known  as  a  successful  practitioner.  His  skilful  treat- 
ment of  the  cholera,  which  prevailed  to  some  extent 
in  Pittsburg  in  1854,  is  still  remembered. 

It  is  worthy  of  interest,  in  view  of  the  pro-slavery 
spirit  which  brooded  over  every  locality,  to  record  that 
while  there,  on  the  occasion  of  the  establishment  of 
a  municipal  and  private  charity,  he  was  selected,  with 
other  physicians,  as  one  of  the  sub-committee  of  ad- 
visers and  referees  to  whom  applications  were  made 
by  white  and  colored  persons  to  enjoy  its  provisions. 


70  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

This  demonstration  of  courtesy  on  the  part  of  the 
municipal  authorities  of  Pittsburg  towards  one  of  its 
citizens  belonging  to  an  unpopular  race  was  certainly 
an  evidence  of  liberality  hardly  to  be  expected  at  that 
time. 

He  still  took  part  in  all  movements  relative  to  the 
advancement  of  his  people.  lie  held  in  most  of  these 
a  prominent  position ;  his  long  experience  and  life  devo- 
tion to  the  cause  of  progress  insured  him  this  always. 

He  published  a  call  for  a  national  emigration  con- 
vention, and,  it  finding  favor,  there  assembled  at  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  August,  1854,  many  of  the  eminent  colored 
men  of  the  northern  and  western  states,  to  discuss  the 
question  of  emigration.  At  best,  emigration  found  but 
little  encouragement  among  the  people  of  the  free 
states,  and  could  hardly  be  called  popular  at  the  South. 

Knowing  the  aversion  held  by  the  colored  people  of 
the  country  to  colonization  in  any  form,  it  was  a  matter 
of  surprise  to  note  the  course  taken  by  this  convention. 
An  importance  was  attached  to  this  movement,  so  un- 
precedented as  to  constitute  it  a  remarkable  feature  in 
their  political  history. 

F  At  this  convention  he  was  made  president  pro  tern., 
to  organize,  and  afterwards  chairman  of  the  business 
committee.  Before  this  body  he  read  an  address,  enti- 
tled "  The  Destiny  of  the  Colored  Race  in  America." 
This  production  won  for  its  author  praise  for  its  literary 
merit  as  well  as  for  its  concise  and  able  views  on  the 
principles  of  government.* 

Of  the  national  board  of  commissioners  he  was  made 
president,  and  the  Rev.  James  Theodore  Holley,  an 

*  This  paper  will  be  found  on  p.  327. 


PRACTISING  MEDICINE.  71 

Episcopal  clergyman  of  New  Haven,  was  sent  to  Hayti 
on  a  mission,  which  was  satisfactorily  effected. 

While  he  presided,  a  correspondence  was  opened 
with  many  foreign  countries,  including  the  West  India 
Islands,  proposing  an  intercontinental  and  provincial 
convention.  Among  those  whose  advice  was  solicited 
in  this  new  movement  was  Sir  Edward  Jordon,  of 
Jamaica,  who,  while  commending  the  propositions  and 
measures  very  highly,  as  a  stride  of  statesmanship,  dis- 
couraged it  as  a  policy,  lest  itr  should  give  alarm  to  her 
majesty's  government,  and,  consequently,  offence.  Ma- 
jor Delany,  in  speaking  of  Sir  Edward  Jordon's  objec- 
tion, says,  "The  force  and  cause  of  this  objection  could 
not  then  be  understood ;  but  since  the  terrible  ordeal 
through  which  the  poor  people  of  Jamaica  have  recently 
passed,  under  the  infamous  Governor  Eyre,  resulting 
in  the  disfranchisement  of  the  blacks,  the  course  of  Sir 
Edward  Jordon  can  now  be  easily  comprehended.  Sir 
Edward  Jordon,  premier  of  Jamaica  for  so  many  years, 
it  would  now  appear,  could  not  have  been  premier  under 
Governor  Eyre,  with  the  power  of  creating  measures,  or 
enforcing  policies  of  government,  but  only  as  a  passive 
minister  of  state,  with  title  and  position,  but  neither 
authority  nor  power,  apparently  but  the  recipient  and 
echo  of  those  under  whom  he  was  called  to  act.  Mr. 
Edward  Jordon,  the  representative  and  champion  of  the 
rights  of  his  race,  as  a  prisoner  in  Jamaica,  thirty-three 
years  ago,  thundering  his  defiance  at  his  opponents 
through  his  prison  bars,  it  is  much  to  be  feared  has  for- 
gotten his  race  as  Sir  Edward  Jordon,  Commander  of 
the  Bath,  and  prime  minister  of  the  colony." 

Such  is  the  interpretation  he  placed  upon  the  disap- 


72  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

proval  of  Sir  Edward  Jordon.  Happily,  a  change  has 
been  brought  about,  tending  to  the  political  advance- 
ment of  the  colored  people,  which  has  counteracted 
the  necessity  of  such  movements  as  were  proper  in  the 
past  struggle,  while  a  portion  remained  enslaved. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Holley  later  established  a  colony  in 
Hayti,  carrying  thither  the  wealth  of  his  splendid  tal- 
ents and  high  moral  worth  to  add  to  the  building  up 
of  the  fortunes  of  his  race  on  that  island,  made  holy  by 
the  blood  of  her  dusky  martyred  heroes. 


FUGITIVE  SLAVE  ACT.  73 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FUGITIVE   SLAVE  ACT. 

A  REMARKABLE  effort  of  this  still  more  remark- 
able man  is  remembered,  from  which  unmistaka- 
ble evidences  of  the  character  of  the  individual,  and 
that  of  his  future  line  of  conduct,  are  drawn. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  passage  of  that  crown- 
ing triumph  of  the  slave  power,  conceded  by  the  obse- 
quious North  to  them,  remembered  as  the  atrocious 
Fugitive  Slave  Act. 

While  this  bill  was  under  consideration,  as  in  other 
dishonorable  political  enactments  affecting  the  interests 
of  the  colored  people,  there  were  many  persons,  who, 
either  from  a  desire  to  have  peace  between  the  two 
sections  at  any  sacrifice  of  national  honor,  or  from  a 
superabundance  of  faith  in  the  decisions  of  our  law- 
makers, were  advising  the  blacks  to  remain  passive;  en- 
deavoring to  impress  the  belief  upon  them  that  the  act 
could  never  pass,  as  it  was  too  atrocious  and  unjust  in 
its  provisions,  and  that  the  American  people  would  not 
tolerate  the  men  who  would  dare  vote  to  sanction  so 
great  an  outrage  on  any  portion  of  the  people  as  that 
contemplated.  The  colored  people,  who  never  failed 
to  enter  their  protest  against  these  unjust  enactments, 
called  for  public  meetings. 


74  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

Martin  Delany,  painfully  alive  to  the  magnitude  of 
the  occasion,  rose  in  proportion  to  it,  and,  while  he  was 
not  able  to  turn  the  course  of  the  event  in  his  favor, 
entered  a  protest  which  gave  sublimity  to  his  defeat. 
At  the  first  appearance  of  the  bill,  with  his  usual  fore- 
sight he  saw  further  humiliation  in  store  for  his  race, — 
the  trampling  out  of  the  sacred  rights  of  manhood  and 
womanhood,  the  total  annihilation  of  domestic  tran- 
quillity, and  the  inevitable  desecration  of  all  that  was 
sacred  to  them,  accompanying  it  in  its  stride.*  This 
was  verified  by  the  Dred  Scot  decision,  which  followed 
in  its  wake  but  a  few  short  years  after.  He  said  that 
the  South  demanded  it,  and  would  get  it,  as  she  had 
never  as  yet,  in  the  history  of  the  country,  failed  to 
secure  by  legislation  that  which  she  demanded  at  the 
hands  of  the  North.  He  held  that  the  scheme  was 
nothing  less  than  a  virtual  rendition  to  slavery  of  every 
free  black  person  in  the  country ;  or,  in  fact,  a  rendi- 
tion of  the  free  states  into  slavery,  with  the  difference 
that  while  the  blacks  could  be  enslaved  in  the  free 
states,  they  must  be  taken  away  to  be  held.  He  was 
instrumental  in  calling  public  meetings,  and  endeavored 
to  urge,  with  all  the  strength  of  his  fiery  eloquence,  the 
devising  of  some  means  to  avert  the  impending  danger. 
Forcible  and  truthful  as  his  arguments  were,  many 
derided  him,  accusing  him  of  being  frightened;  this, 
too,  from  men  of  experience  and  wisdom,  whose  confi- 
dence in  the  honor  of  the  administration  exceeded  his 
own. 

At  these  meetings  white  speakers  often  addressed 
them,  some  of  whom  advised  them  against  being  mis- 
led by  rash,  inconsiderate  persons,  who  were  alarmed 


FUGITIVE  SLAVE  ACT.  75 

before  being  hurt,  being  frightened  by  their  own  shad- 
ows. But  as  this  was  a  shadow  of  such  magnitude, 
the  steady  advance  of  which  threatened  to  darken 
their  political  pathway,  more  than  the  shadow  of  an 
excuse  must  be  allowed  for  their  fright. 

The  bill  was  passed,  followed  by  an  excitement 
throughout  the  North  only  equalled  since  by  that 
evinced  at  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter.  Never  in  the 
history  of  civilization  was  humanity  more  outraged 
than  in  that  act;  the  Dred  Scot  decision  was  but  a 
fitting  sequel  to  it ;  one  would  have  been  incomplete 
without  the  other.  "  For  every  drop  of  blood  drawn 
by  the  lash,  the  sword  has  avenged,"  said  Abraham 
Lincoln;  and  for  every  attempt  to  ignore  the  rights 
of  humanity  there  is  a  retributive  demand  awaiting 
individuals  and  nations. 

There  were  mass  meetings  held  throughout  the 
North.  At  the  first  great  meeting,  held  on  the  public 
square  of  Pittsburg,  among  the  speakers  loudly  called 
for  was  Martin  Delany.  His  predictions  being  too 
bitterly  realized,  he  designedly  evaded  their  cries,  de- 
siring some  of  the  leading  wiiite  men  present  first  to 
commit  themselves.  This  being  Saturday  evening, 
they  adjourned  to  meet  the  following  Monday  at  Alle- 
ghany  City,  Pa.  At  this  meeting  the  mayor  presided, 
supported  by  many  distinguished  citizens,  among  them 
the  Hon.  William  Robinson,  Jr.,  an  ex-foreign  commis- 
sioner, and  the  Rev.  Charles  Avery,  the  eminent  phi- 
lanthropist. Among  the  speakers  who  addressed  them 
on  that  memorable  occasion  were  the  Hon.  T.  H.  Howe, 
the  recent  member  of  Congress  from  Alleghany,  and 
Hon.  Charles  A.  Naylor,  member  of  Congress  from 


76  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Pennsylvania.  Here  again  he  was  called  for,  and  this 
time  he  responded. 

It  was  generally  conceded  that  his  was  one  of  the 
most  powerful  and  impressive  speeches  of  that  memo- 
rable occasion.  We  extract  the  following  from  it.  Said 
he,  "Honorable  mayor,  whatever  ideas  of  liberty  I  may 
have,  have  been  received  from  reading  the  lives  of 
your  revolutionary  fathers.  I  have  therein  learned 
that  a  man  has  a  right  to  defend  his  castle  with  his 
life,  even  unto  the  taking  of  life.  Sir,  my  house*  is  my 
castle;  in  that  castle  are  none  but  my  wife  and  my 
children,  as  free  as  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  whose 
liberty  is  as  sacred  as  the  pillars  of  God.  If  any  man 
approaches  that  house  in  search  of  a  slave,  —  I  care  not 
who  he  may  be,  whether  constable  or  sheriff,  magis- 
trate or  even  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  —  nay,  let  it 
be  he  who  sanctioned  this  act  to  become  a  law,  sur- 
rounded by  his  cabinet  as  his  body-guard,  with  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  waving  above  his  head  as 
his  banner,  and  the  constitution  of  his  country  upon 
his  breast  as  his  shield,  —  if  he  crosses  the  threshold 
of  my  door,  and  I  do  not  lay  him  a  lifeless  corpse  at 
my  feet,  I  hope  the  grave  may  refuse  my  body  a  resting- 
place,  and  righteous  Heaven  ray  spirit  a  home.  O,  no ! 
he  cannot  enter  that  house  and  we  both  live." 

Such  is  a  portion  of  the  speech,  remembered  for  its 
singular  pathos  and  boldness,  wrung  from  the  lips  of 
one  whose  soul  was  kindled  with  the  sense  of  the  out- 
rages heaped  upon  his  helpless  race  by  a  people  mad- 
dened by  success. 


A  HIATUS.  77 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
A  HIATUS. 

HIS  career  thus  far  in  life,  while  generally  success- 
fill,  had  also  its  portion  of  failures  as  well  as  tri- 
umphs. Two,  of  a  marked  character,  occurred  about 
the  winter  of  1851-2..  Their  ill  success  seemed  rather 
to  belong  to  the  method  pursued  in  presenting  them, 
than  to  the  capability  of  the  man  to  make  them  mer- 
itorious. 

He  had  left  Pittsburg  for  New  York  to  make  cer- 
tain arrangements  necessary  for  obtaining  a  caveat, 
preparatory  to  an  application  to  the  department  at 
Washington  for  a  patent  for  an  invention,  originally 
his  own,  for  the  ascending  and  descending  of  a  loco- 
motive on  an  inclined  plane,  without  the  aid  of  a 
stationary  engine.  Had  he  succeeded  in  his  fii-st  plan, 
the  second  would  have  been  satisfactory.  In  this  piece 
of  mechanism,  he  was  wholly  absorbed,  and  brought  it 
to  completion.  At  length  he  made  it  known  to  his 
friend,  Dr.  James  McLune  Smith,  of  New  York.  The 
doctor,  being  possessed  of  talents  of  high  order,  and 
devoted  to  scientific  pursuits,  looked  favorably  upon 
the  plan,  and  at  once  proposed  to  take  him  to  an  ex- 
tensive machine  establishment  in  the  city  for  consulta- 
tion on  the  subject. 


78  *  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

At  this  establishment  much  curiosity,  if  not  real  in- 
terest, was  manifested  concerning  it.  But  the  reticence 
which  characterizes  him  in  matters  in  which  conceal- 
ment is  necessary  in  no  wise  deserting  him,  and  as  he 
revealed  but  little  to  the  proprietor,  himself  an  invent- 
or, the  visit  and  interview  were  of  no  avail. 

Not  disheartened  by  this,  he  applied  to  a  distin- 
guished patent  attorney,  who,  on  application  for  a  caveat 
after  all  the  arrangements  necessary,  abandoned  the 
effort  as  being  unsatisfactory,  leaving  the  inference  to 
be  deduced  by  Major  Delany  and  his  friend  Dr.  Smith 
that  the  only  cause  of  neglect  or  refusal  to  entertain 
the  proposition  at  Washington  was,  that  the  applicant 
must  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  His  own  opin- 
ion was  contrary  to  the  statement  of  the  attorney,  —  he 
believing  the  right  to  obtain  copyrights  or  patents  as 
not  being  restricted  to  the  citizens  alone,  but  in  the 
reach  of  any  person,  whether  American  or  foreign. 
He  made  a  subsequent  attempt  to  have  it  patented, 
but  finally  abandoned  it. 

His  attention  and  interest  were  drawn  in  another  di- 
rection ;  for  at  this  time  adventure  was  at  its  height, 
and  every  vessel  leaving  the  port  of  New  York  bore 
evidence  of  it.  Many  colored  men,  dissatisfied  with 
their  unrecognized  concfitfon,  caught  this  spirit,  and 
some  embarked  either~Tor  Grey  town  or  San  Juan  del 
Norte^-— -  this  being  the  chief  point  ot  attraction,  which 
was  like  a  free  city,  or  independent  principality  of 
Germany,  but  neither  held  obligations  to  the  one,  nor 
owed  allegiance  to  the  other,  jjeorge  Frederick, 
king  of  the  Mosquitos.  becoming  dissatisfied  writh  the 
intrusions  and  impositions  practised  by  the  former 


A  HIATUS.  79 

emigrants,  Colonel  Kearny,  of  Philadelphia,  already  on 
his  way,  if  not  at  the  point,  said  to  Major  Delauy, 
"Every  one  seemed  to  breathe  Central  America." 

While  witnessing  these  preparations  for  departure 
to  their  El  Dorado,  he  met  a  young  friend  of  his,  a 
physician  of  great  promise,  Dr.  David  J.  Peck,  en  route 
for  California,  whom  he  advised  to  abandon  the  inten- 
sion of  going  to  that  place,  where  his  success  would  be 
less  certain  among  the  hundreds  of  white  physicians 
from  all  parts,  who  could  scarcely  realize  a  support 
from  their  practice ;  but  to  go  to  Central  America, 
where  his  color  would  be  in  his  favor,  and  his  advan- 
tages superior  to  those,  of  the  physicians  there,  who  are 
mostly  natives,  would  be  preferable. 

Dr.  Peck  heeded  his  counsels,  and  became  a  promi- 
nent practitioner  there.  From  the  first  he  was  nomi- 
nated for  port  physician,  in  preference  to  an  English 
physician  of  eleven  years'  standing. 

The  black  adventurers  soon  affiliated  with  the  na- 
tives, and  were  made  eligible  to  every  civil  right 
among  them. 

A  committee  of  natives  was  appointed  to  draught  res- 
olutions for  a  municipal  council,  at  the  head  of  which 
wa's  Dr.  Peck  as  chairman.  Through  their  influence 
crowds  of  adherents  were  attracted  to  the  new  policy, 
and  a  future  government  was  decided  upon  as  certain 
to  organize  speedily. 

It  was  understood  that  the  mayor  should  be  the 
highest  civil  municipal  authority,  the  governor  the 
highest  civil  state  authority,  the  civil  and  military 
to  be  united  in  one  person,  and  the  governor  must  be 
commander-iu-chief  of  the  military  forces. 


80  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


A  convention  was-lisld,  and  a  candidate  nominated. 
An  election  took  place  (in  what  way  it  was  never  pub- 
licly known),  and  a  steamer  brought  the  intelligence, 
officially  transmitted,  that  "  Dr.  Martin  R.  Delany  was 
duly  chosen"lmtl~"'etecfred-  mayoi'~of  Greytown,  civil 
governor  of  tlie~Mosqmto  reservation,  and  command- 
er-in-chief  of  the  military  forces  of  the  province  !  " 
ThTs~was  delivered  to  him  by  a  bearer  of  despatches 
sent  specially  for  that  purposeT 

An  important  instruction  to  the  governor  elect  was, 
that  he  should  bring  with  him  his  own  council  of  state 
as  the  native  material,  although  of  a  country  abound- 
ing in  mahogany  and  rosewood,  was  not  suitable  for 
"  cabinet-work"  This,  said  he,  was  the  worst  feature 
of  their  choice,  because  such  material  as  would  be  de- 
sirable was  not  easily  obtained  :  they  would  not  consent 
to  go,  being  averse  to  emigration. 

He  held  the  belief  that  nothing  was  Well  tested 
without  first  giving  fair  trial  to  it;  and  for  himself, 
determined  to  do  so.  To  this  end  he  travelled,  for 
nearly  eight  months,  in  many  states,  Until  worn  out, 
without  finding  the  desirable  material,  and  was  com- 
pelled to  abandon  his  designs. 

By  the  order  of  Dr.  Holland,  the  American  charge, 
the  town  was  bombarded  by  Commodore  Ingraham,  of 
the  United  States  squadron,  and  the  embryo  govern- 
ment disappeared  from  the  stage  forever. 

While  travelling  on  this  quest  he  wrote  and  pub- 
lished a  small  work  (originally  designed  for  pamphlet 
form)  on  the  condition  of  the  colored  race  in  America. 
This  being  published  without  proper  revision,  he  hav- 
ing left  it  to  another's  superintendence,  —  for  at  this  time 


A  HIATUS.  81 

he  was  prosecuting  his  invention  of  the  inclined  plane,, 
and  also  the  Central  American  project, —  on  its  appear- 
ance it  was  nearly  dashed  to  pieces  in  the  storm  it  encoun- 
tered. None  criticised  it  so  severely  as  himself;  while 
some  of  his  friends  were  disposed  to  look  favorably 
upon  it,  as  the  errors  it  contained  could  not  be  dis- 
guised, and  the  author  was  known  to  be  aware  of  them. 
One  severe  criticism,  more  of  himself,  it  appeared,  than 
the  book,  he  seemed  to  have  regarded  as  "the  unkindest 
cut  of  all "  —  that  of  Mr.  Oliver  Johnson,  then  editor 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Freeman.  To  add  to  the  list  of 
disasters,  some  person  sent  a  copy  to  England  to  Mr. 
Armisted,  author  of  the  "  Negro's  Friend." 

He  says,  in  speaking  of  Mr.  Johnson's  criticism  of 
liimself,  "I  was  poor  when  I  wrote,  weary  and  hungry. 
This  my  friend  Johnson  did  not  know,  else  he  would 
not  so  severely  have  criticised  me.  He  thought  I  wrote 
as  an  author,  to  be  seen  and  known  of  men.  I  wrote 
not  as  an  author,  but  as  I  travelled  about  from  place  to 
place. 

Sometimes  I  sat,  sometimes  I  stood, 

Writing  when  and  where  I  could, 

A  little  here,  a  little  there  ; 

'Twas  here,  and  there,  and  everywhere. 

I  wrote  to  obtain  subsistence.  I  had  travelled  and 
speculated  until  I  found  myself  out  of  means." 

The  book  was  stopped  by  him  in  the  midst  of  the 
first  edition  of  one  thousand. 

He  always  likened  himself,  concerning  that  literary 
undertaking,  to  Gumpton  Cute,  a  character  in  the  play 
of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  who,  "  being  on  a  filibustering  ex- 
pedition, got  a  little  short  of  change."  Thus  failing  in 
6 


82  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

all  that  be  had  designed,  with  the  most  laudable  motives 
in  view,  and  succeeding  in  that  with  which  he  neither 
desired  nor  could  be  satisfied  —  making  a  poor  book. 
While  he  good-humoredly  admits  the  fallacy  of  his 
moves,  yet  his  friends,  mindful  of  the  long,  wearisome 
months  of  toil  and  anxiety,  and  of  high  hopes  wrecked, 
regret  them,  as  making  a  void  useless  and  unnatural  in 
his  life's  history,  and  consider  it  an  episode  illegitimate 
in  his  role. 


CANADA.  —  CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN.  83 


CHAPTER  IX. 
CANADA.  —  CAPTAIN   JOHN  BROWN. 

IN  February,  1856,  he  removed  to  Chatham,  Kent   j 
County,  Canada,  where  he  continued  the  practice  / 
of  medicine.    While  his  "  visiting  list "  gave  evidence  of 
a   respectable   practice,  his  fees  were    not   in  propor- 
tion to  it.     His  practice  embraced  a  great  portion  of 
those  who  were  refugees  from  American  slavery ;  hence 
his  income  here  did  not  exceed  that  acquired  at  Pitts- 
burg. 

Here  his  activity  found  wider  scope,  and  new  fields 
of  labor  were  opened  to  him.  It  was  not  likely  that 
one  of  such  marked  character  would  remain  unrecog- 
nized. He  was  ever  suggesting  measures  tending  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  one  class  or  another,  which 
resulted  in  gaining  for  him  an  influence  only  surpassed 
by  that  wielded  by  him  at  his  post  of  duty  at  the 
South. 

Once,  while  in  Canada,  an  important  suggestion  of 
his  being  adopted,  it  resulted  in  driving  both  candi- 
dates —  conservative  and  reformer  —  together,  com- 
pelling them  to  offer  terms  for  the  support  of  the  black 
constituency. 

He  took  part  freely  in  all  political  movements  in  his 
adopted  home.  For  several  years  he  was  one  of  the  f 


84  LIFE  or  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

principal  canvassers  in  the  hustings  in  the  ridings  of 
Kent  for  the  election,  and  was  one  of  the  executive 
committee,  and  belonged  to  the  private  caucus  of  A. 
McKellers,  Esq.,  member  of  the  Provincial  Parliament 
from  Kent  County. 

These  facts  will  render  it  conclusive  that  his  activity 
was  none  the  less  in  a  country  where  the  progress  of 
hi&  race  met  no  resistance,  but  only  varied  in  its  method. 
Whatever  prominence  here,  as  elsewhere,  was  attained 
by  him,  was  cast  in  the  balance  as  an  offering  to  his 
people. 

•      Here  were  matured  his  plans  for  an  organization  for 
I  scientific  purposes,  which  afterwards  gave  him  fame  in 
I  other  lands.     Here  also  was  he  connected  with  the  be- 
ginning of  a  movement  in  behalf  of  human  liberty,  the 
most    sublime    in    conception,    and    mysterious   in    its 
accomplishment,  written-  of  in    modern   times.      The 
\  first  was  in  1858,  when  had  been  completed  a  long  con- 
Jtemplated  design  of  his  —  that  of  inaugurating  a  party 
/of  scientific  men  of  color,  to  make  explorations  in  cer- 
'  tain  portions  of  Africa. 

In  the  early  part  of  May,  1859,  there  sailed  from 
New  York,  in  the  bark  Meudi,  owned  by  three  col- 
ored African  merchants,  the  first  colored  explorers 
from  the  United  States,  known  as  the  Niger  Valley 
Exploring  Party,  at  the  head  of  which  was  its  pro- 
jector,  Dr.  DcTany^  His  observations  he  published  on 
his  return  to  this  country,  so  that  they  need  no  repe- 
tition here,  though  an  important  treaty  formed  with 
the  king  and  principal  chiefs  of  Abeokuta  we  have 
noticed  in  another  portion  of  this  wrork.  It  was 
the  importance  attached  to  this  mission,  and  the  sue- 


CANADA.  —  CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN.  85 

cessful  accomplishment  of  it,  that  gave  him  prestige, 
rendering  him  eligible  to  membership  of  the  renowned 
International  Statistical  Congress  of  July,  1860,  at 
London.  He  travelled  extensively  in  Africa  for  one 
year. 

In  April,  prior  to  his  departure  for  Africa,  while  mak- 
ing final  completions  for  his  tour,  on  returning  home 
from  a  professional  visit  in  the  country,  Mrs.  Delany 
informed  him  that  an  old  gentleman  had  called  to  see 
him  during  his  absence.  She  described  him  as  having 
a  long,  white  beard,  very  gray  hair,  a  sad  but  placid 
countenance ;  in  speech  he  was  peculiarly  solemn ;  she 
added,  "  He  looked  like  one  of  the  old  prophets.  Pie 
would  neither  come  in  nor  leave  his  name,  but  prom- 
ised to  be  back  in  two  weeks'  time."  Unable  to  obtain 
any  information  concerning  his  mysterious  visitor,  the 
circumstance  would  have  probably  been  forgotten,  had 
not  the  visitor  returned  at  the  appointed  time;  and  not 
finding  him  at  home  a  second  time,  he  left  a  message 
to  the  effect  that  he  would  call  again  "  in  four  days, 
and  must  see  him  then?  This  time  the  interest  in  the 
visitor  was  heightened,  and  his  call  was  eagerly  awaited. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time,  while  on  J;he  street,  he 
recognized  his  visitor,  by  his  wife's  description,  ap- 
proaching him,  accompanied  by  another  gentleman  ; 
on  the  latter  introducing  him  to  the  former,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Not  Captain  John  Brown,  of  Ossawatomie ! " 
not  thinking  of  the  grand  old  hero  as  being  east  of 
Kansas,  especially  in  Canada,  as  the  papers  had  been 
giving  such  contradictory  accounts  of  him  during  the 
winter  and  spring. 

"  I  am,  sir,"  was  the  reply ;  "  and  I  have  come  to 


86  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

Chatham  expressly  to  see  you,  this  being  my  third 
visit  on  the  errand.  I  must  see  you  at  once,  sir,"  he 
continued,  with  emphasis,  "  and  that,  too,  in  private,  as 
I  have  much  to  do  and  but  little  time  before  me.  If  I  am 
to  do  nothing  here,  I  want  to  know  it  at  once."  "  Going 
directly  to  the  private  parlor  of  a  hotel  near  by,"  says 
Major  Delany,  "he  at  once  revealed  to  me  that  he  de- 
sired to  carry  out  a  great  project  in  his  scheme  of  Kan- 
sas emigration,  which,  to  be  successful,  must  be  aided 
and  countenanced  by  the  influence  of  a  general  con- 
vention or  council.  That  he  was  unable  to  effect  in 
the  United  States,  but  had  been  advised  by  distin- 
guished friends  of  his  and  mine,  that,  if  he  could  but 
see  me,  his  object  could  be  attained  at  once.  On 
my  expressing  astonishment  at  the  conclusion  to  which 
my  friends  and  himself  had  arrived,  with  a  nervous 
impatience,  he  exclaimed,  '  Why  should  you  be  sur- 
prised? Sir,  the  people  of  the  Northern  States  are 
cowards ;  slavery  has  made  cowards  of  them  all.  The 
whites  are  afraid  of  each  other,  and  the  blacks  are 
afraid  of  the  whites.  You  can  eifect  nothing  among 
such  people,'-  he  added,  with  decided  emphasis.  On 
assuring  him  if  a  council  were  all  that  was  desired,  he 
could  readily  obtain  it,  he  replied,  c  That  is  all ;  but 
that  is  a  great  deal  to  rne.  It  is  men  I  want,  and  not 
money;  money  I  can  get  plentiful  enough,  but  no 
men.  Money  can  come  without  being  seen,  but  men 
are  afraid  of  identification  with  me,  though  they  favor 
my  measures.  They  are  cowards,  sir !  Cowards ! '  he 
reiterated.  He  then  fully  revealed  his  designs.  With 
these  I  found  no  fault,  but  fully  favored  and  aided  in 
getting  up  the  convention. 


CANADA.  —  CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN.  87 

"  The  convention,  when  assembled,  consisted  of  Cap- 
tain John  Brown,  his  son  Owen,  eleven  or  twelve  of 
his  Kansas  followers,  all  young  white  men,  enthusiastic 
and  able,  and  probably  sixty  or  seventy  colored  men, 
whom  I  brought  together. 

"  His  plans  were  made  known  to  them  as  soon' as  he 
was  satisfied  that  the  assemblage  could  be  confided  in, 
which  conclusion  he  was  not  long  in  finding,  for  with 
few  exceptions  the  whole  of  these  were  fugitive  slaves, 
refugees  in  her  Britannic  majesty's  dominion.  His 
scheme  was  nothing  more  than  this  :  To  make  Kansas, 
instead  of  Canada,  the  terminus  of  the  Underground 
Railroad ;  instead  of  passing  off  the  slave  to  Canada, 
to  send  him  to  Kansas,  and  there  test,  on  the  soil  of  the 
United  States  territory,  whether  or  not  the  right  to 
freedom  would  be  maintained  where  no  municipal 
power  had  authorized. 

."He  stated  that  he  had  originated  a  fortification  so 
simple,  that  twenty  men,  without  the  aid  of  teams  or 
ordnance,  could  build  one  in  a  day  that  would  defy  all 
the  artillery  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  against  it. 
How  it  was  constructed  he  would  not  reveal,  and  none 
knew  it  except  his  great  confidential  officer,  Kagi  (the 
secretary  of  war  in  his  contemplated  provisional  gov- 
ernment), a  young  lawyer  of  marked  talents  and  sin- 
gular demeanor." 

Major  Del  any  stated  that  he  had  proposed,  as  a 
cover  to  the  change  in  the  scheme,  as  Canada  had 
always  been  known  as  the  terminus  of  the  Under- 
ground Railroad,  and  pursuit  of  the  fugitive  was 
made  in  that  direction,  to  call  it  the  Subterranean  Pass 
Way,  where  the  initials  would  stand  S.  P.  W.,  to  note 


88  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

the  direction  in  which  he  had  gone  when  not  sent  to 
Canada.  He  further  stated  that  the  idea  of  Harper's 
Ferry  was  never  mentioned,  or  even  hinted  in  that 
convention. 

Had  such  been  intimated,  it  is  doubtful  of  its  being 
favorably  regarded.  Kansas,  where  he  had  battled  so 
valiantly  for  freedom,  seemed  the  proper  place  for  his 
vantage-ground,  and  the  kind  and  condition  of  men 
for  whom  he  had  fought,  the  men  with  whom  to  fight. 
Hence  the  favor  which  the  scheme  met  of  making 
Kansas  the  terminus  of  the  Subterranean  Pass  Way, 
and  there  fortifying  with  these  fugitives  against  the  Bor- 
der slaveholders,  for  personal  liberty,  with  which  they 
had  no  right  to  interfere.  Thus  it  is  clearly  explained 
that  it  was  no  design  against  the  Union,  as  the  slave- 
holders and  their  satraps  interpreted  the  movement, 
and  by  this  means  would  anticipate  their  designs. 

This  also  explains  the  existence  of  the  constitution 
for  a  civil  government  found  in  the  carpet-bag  among 
the  effects  of  Captain  Brown,  after  his  capture  in  Vir- 
ginia, so  inexplicable  to  the  slaveholders,  and  which 
proved  such  a  nightmare  to  Governor  Wise,  and  caused 
him,  as  well  as  many  wiser  than  himself!  to  construe  it 
as  a  contemplated  overthrow  of  the  Union.  The  con- 
stitution for  a  provisional  government  owes  its  origin 
to  these  facts. 

Major  Delany  says,  "The  whole  matter  had  been 
well  considered,  and  at  first  a  state  government  had 
been  proposed,  and  in  accordance  a  constitution  pre- 
pared. This  was  presented  to  the  convention ;  and 
here  a  difficulty  presented  itself  to  the  minds  of  some 
present,  that  according  to  American  jurisprudence, 


CANADA.  —  CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN.  89 

negroes,  having  no  rights  respected  by  white  men,  con- 
sequently could  have  no  right  to  petition,  and  none  to 
sovereignty. 

"  Therefore  it  would  be  mere  mockery  to  set  up  a 
claim  as  a  fundamental  right,  which  in  itself  was  null 
and  void. 

"  To  obviate  this,  and  avoid  the  charge  against  them 
as  lawless  and  unorganized,  existing  without  govern- 
ment, it  was  proposed  that  an  independent  community 
be  established  within  .and  under  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  but  without  the  state  sovereignty 
of  the  compact,  similar  to  the  Cherokee  nation  of  In- 
dians, or  the  Mormons.  To  these  last  named,  refer- 
ences were  made,  as  parallel  cases,  at  the  time.  The 
necessary  changes  and  modification  were  made  in  the 
constitution,  and  with  such  it  was  printed. 
^^  Captain  Brown  returned  after  a  week's  absence,  with 
a  printed  copy  of  the  corrected  instrument,  which,  per- 
haps, was  the  copy  found  by  Governor  Wise." 

During  the  time  this  grand  old  reformer  of  our  time 
was  preparing  his  plans,  he  often  sought  Major  Delany, 
desirous  of  his  personal  cooperation  in  carrying  forward 
his  work.  This  was  not  possible  for  him  to  do,  as  his 
attention  and  time  were  directed  entirely  to  the  Afri- 
can Exploration  movement,  which  was  planned  prior 
to  his  meeting  Captain  Brown,  as  before  stated.  But 
as  Captain  Brown  desired  that  he  should  give  encour- 
agement to  the  plan,  he  consented,  and  became  presi- 
dent of  the  permanent  organization  of  the  Subterra- 
nean Pass  Way,  with  Mr.  Isaac  D.  Shadd,  editor  of  the 
Provincial  Freeman,  as  secretary. 

This  organization  was  an  extensive  body,  holding 


90  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

the  same  relation  to  his  movements  as  a  state  or  na- 
tional executive  committee  hold  to  its  party  principles, 
directing  their  adherence  to  fundamental  principles. 

This,  he  says,  was  the  plan  and  purpose  of  the  Can- 
ada Convention.  Whatever  changed  them  to  Harper's 
Ferry  was  known  only  to  Captain  Brown,  and  perhaps  to 
Kagi,  who  had  the  honor  of  being  deeper  in  his  confi- 
dence than  any  one  else.  Mr.  Osborn  Anderson,  one 
of  the  survivors  of  that  immortal  band,  and  whose 
statement  as  one  of  the  principal  actors'  in  that  histori- 
cal drama  cannot  be  ignored,  states  that  none  of  the 
men  knew  that  Harper's  Ferry  was  the  point  of  attack 
until  the  order  was  given  to  march.  It  was  Mr.  Ander- 
son whom  Captain  Brown  delegated  to  receive  the 
sword*  from  Colonel  Washington,  on  that  night  when 
the  Rubicon  of  slavery  was  crossed  by  that  band  of  hero 
pioneers  who  confronted  the  slave  power  in  its  strong- 
hold. The  first  sound  of  John  Brown's  rifle,  reverber- 
ating along  the  Shenandoah,  proclaimed  the  birth  of 
Freedom.  Already  he  saw  the  mighty  host  he  invoked 
in  Freedom's  name.  He  heard  their  coming  footfalls 
echoing  over  Virginia's  hills  and  plains,  and  upon  every 
breeze  that  swept  her  valleys  was  borne  to  him  his 
name  entwined  in  battle  anthem.  He  saw  in  the 
gathering  strife  that  either  Freedom  or  her  priest  must 
perish,  and  with  a  giant's  strength  he  went  forward 
to  his  high  and  holy  martyrdom,  thereby  inaugurating 
victory. 

*  This  sword  was  a  relic  of  the  revolutionary  war,  presented 
by  Frederick  the  Great  to  General  Washington,  and  was  kept  in 
the  Washington  family  until  that  time. 


CANADA  CONVENTION.  91 


CHAPTER  X. 
CANADA  CONVENTION.  — HARPER'S  FERRY. 

IT  seems  remarkable  that  the  man  whom  Providence 
had  chosen  to  warn  a  guilty  nation  of  its  danger, 
and  through  whom  the  African  race  in  America  re- 
ceived the  boon  of  freedom,  which  is  but  a  prelude  to 
the  entire  abolition  of  slavery  on  the  western  conti- 
nent, should  be  sent  first  to  Major  Delany  in  Canada, 
through  whom  alone  he  considered  himself  able  to 
perfect  the  plans  necessary  to  begin  the  great  work ! 
Certainly  the  ways  of  Providence  are  beyond  mortal 
comprehension.  The  extraordinary  kindness  of  the 
jailer  to  the  old  hero  prophet  in  the  midst  of  hostile 
men  in  Virginia  elicited  surprise  in  the  North,  and 
was  the  subject  of  remark  by  many.  To  a  playfellow 
of  Martin  Delany  in  childhood  it  was  no  matter  of 
wonderment  that  he  should  sympathize  with  his  help- 
less, way-worn  prisoner,  if  the  heart  of  the  man  were 
at  all  akin  to  the  heart  of  the  child.  The  open  admira- 
tion demonstrated  by  the  Virginia  jailer  for  the  charac- 
ter of  his  captive  was  a  picture  striking  and  pleasing 
in  the  midst  of  all  the  dark  surroundings  of  that  time. 
The  man  who,  in  the  midst  of  hostile  faces  lowering 
with  hate  and  fear  towards  him  who  sat  beside,  him  on 
his  way  to  death,  could  say,  *'  Captain  Brown,  you  are  a 


§2  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

game  man,"  proved  himself,  after  his  prisoner,  the  brav- 
est man  in  Virginia  that  day. 

In  regard  to  the  relation  sustained  by  the  brave  Avis 
to  Major  Delany  in  childhood,  it  may  be  of  interest  to 
know  that  the  acquaintance  was  renewed  in  after  years, 
during  the  Mexican  war,  by  the  major's  frequently 
sending  him  copies  of  the  paper  of  which  he  was  then 
editor  in  Pittsburg.  These  were  duly  acknowledged 
by  Captain  Avis,  who  recognized  his  name,  and  adverted 
to  some  of  the  scenes  of  their  childhood,  but  cautioned 
him  against  sending  them  regularly,  lest  it  should  at- 
tract attention  at  the  post-oflice,  the  paper  being  thor- 
oughly anti-slavery,  and  taking  grounds  against  the 
war,  as  being  waged  for  the  propagation  of  slavery. 
Hence  anti-slavery  sentiments  were  not  unfamiliar  to 
Avis.  And  we  know  not  but  that  at  some  time,  in  that 
lonely  prison  cell,  the  name  of  Martin  Delany,  whom  the 
testimony  of  Mr.  Richard  Rcalf  before  the  Senate  com- 
mittee had  made  to  play  such  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  singularly  significant  councils  at  Chatham,  was  men- 
tioned ;  and  who  can  say  it  may  not  have  been  a  link 
that  had  first  knit  the  captor  to  the  captive  ? 
**  The  testimony  of  Mr.  Realf  before  the  Senate  com- 
mittee appointed  to  investigate  the  Harper's  Ferry 
affair  resulted  in  placing  Major  Delany  in  a  most  cow- 
ardly light.  The  charges  were  to  the  effect  that  he, 
"Dr.  Delany,  had  repeatedly  urged  the.  black  men  in 
the  convention,  and  that  all  his  acts  and  -advices  tended 
to  encourage  them  to  go  with  Captain  Brown,  to  aid  in 
an  overthrow  of -the  government,  as  a  measure  that 
would  succeed."  This  is  without  foundation.  Major 
Delany  is  remembered,  by  those  who  attended  the 


CANADA  CONVENTION.  93 

councils  at  Chatham,  as  having  objected  to  many  prop- 
ositions favored  by  Captain  Brown,  as  not  having  the 
least  chance  of  giving  trouble  to  the  slaveholders,  ex- 
cept the  fortification  at  Kansas.  At  one  time,  having 
objected  repeatedly  to  certain  proposed  measures,  the 
old  captain  sprang  suddenly  to  his  feet,  and  exclaimed 
severely,  "  Gentlemen,  if  Dr.  Delany  is  afraid,  don't  let 
him  make  you  all  cowards  ! " 

Dr.  Delany  replied  immediately  to  this,  courteously, 
yet  decidedly.  Said  he,  "  Captain  Brown  does  not 
know  the  man  of  whom  he  speaks  :  there  exists  no  one 
in  whose  veins  the  blood  of  cowardice  courses  less 
freely ;  and  it  must  not  be  said,  even  by  John  Brown, 
of  Ossawatomie.*  As  he  concluded,  the  old  man 
bowed  approvingly  to  him,  then  arose,  and  made  ex- 
planations. 

lie  accounted  for  Mr.  Realf's  discrepancies  from  the 
fact  that  the  young  man  was  a  stranger  to  the  country, 
and  understood  but  little  of  its  policy,  and  his  former 
position  in  life  never  brought  him  in  contact  with  men 
of  such  character  as  Mason,  of  Trent  notoriety,  and 
the  rest  of  the  pro-slavery  committee,  upon  whose  tor- 
turing rack  he  was  stretched,  upon  the  charge  of  at- 
temptiny  to  overthrow  the  government ! 

But  a  few  years  after  beheld  the  chairman  of  that 
committee  a  fugitive,  a  prisoner,  and  an  exile,  and  Virgin- 
ia the  battle-ground  of  contending  armies,  one  inspired 
by  an  anthem  commemorating  the  name  of  him  whom 
Virginia  in  her  madness  sacrificed  to  her  destruction, 
the  other  endeavoring  to  destroy  the  Union  in  accord- 
ance with  the  teachings  of  the  judges  of  Captain 
Brown  and  his  followers. 


94  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

While  this  stern  judge  of  the  Senate  Chamber  was 
hiding  his  blighted  name  in  exile,  the  name  of  Richard 
Realf  shone- among  the  brightest  at  Lookout  Mountain, 
as  he  rushed  forward,  amid  a  shower  of  bullets,  to  re- 
place the  national  standard  after  its  bearer  had  fallen. 

These  misrepresentations  of  Major  Delany's  connec- 
tion with  the  Harper's  Ferry  insurrection  embarrassed 
him  greatly,  at  one  time,  while  abroad,  which  we  give, 
and  will  also  show  the  importance  attached  to  the  Har- 
per's Ferry  invasion  abroad. 

While  reporting  on  his  explorations  during  his  visit 
to  Scotland,  a  letter  (anonymous)  was  sent  to  Sir 
Culling  Eardley  Eardley,  implicating  the  Major  (Dr. 
Delany)  with  the  "  insurgents  under  John  Brown." 

Such  was  the  effect  of  this  insidious  missive,  that  a 
whole  day  (Sabbath)  was  spent  by  gentlemen  of  the 
highest  social  and  public  position  in  discussing  the 
matter,  and  considering  the  propriety  of  dropping  and 
denouncing  him. 

But  wisdom  prevailed,  and  they  determined  to  dis- 
regard the  anonymous  informant's  advice.  With  this 
a  learned  ex-official  of  her  majesty's  government  called 
upon  him  at  his  residence  in  Glasgow,  and  reported  the 
proceedings  to  him.  He  was  met  with  an  argument 
from  Major  Delany,  to  which  he  assented,  jyul  replied 
that  it  was  the  same  in  substance  as  used  by  himself 
and  the  great-hearted  Sir  Culling  Eardley  Eardley. 
After  passing  through  the  scrutiny  of  these  British 
statesmen,  he  received  no  further  annoyance  concern- 
ing this  while  in  Europe. 

Of  the  movement  at  Harper's  Ferry,  followed  by  the 
almost  immediate  execution  of  Captain  Brown  and 


CANADA  CONVENTION.  95 

his  devoted  followers,  he  was  ignorant,  until  in  Abeo- 
kuta  he  received  a  copy  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
sent  from  England  for  him. 

It  was  after  the  Canada  Convention,  in  accordance 
with  designs  as  before  stated,  he  embarked  for  Africa, 
accompanied  by  Robert  Douglass,  Esq.,  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  genius  whom  prejudice  denied  the  right  to 
study  peacefully  his  glorious  art  in  the  academy  of  his 
native  city,  but  whom  the  Royal  Academy  of  England 
received  within  its  portals,  and  Professor  Robert 
Campbell,  of  the  Philadelphia  Institute  for  colored 
youth. 


96  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER   XI. 
IN  EUROPE. 

AFTER  his  expedition  into  Central  Africa,  gratified 
at  the  success  of  his  discoveries,  as  well  as  the 
knowledge  acquired  concerning  the  people,  among 
whom  he  found  evidences  of  a  higher  civilization  than 
that  which  travellers  accredit  them,  he  departed  for 
Europe,  and  arrived  at  Liverpool  May  12,  1860,  where 
remaining  for  three  days,  he  entered.  London  on  the 
evening  of -May  15. 

Here  he  received  marked  attentions  from  gentlemen 
of  the  highest  social  and  public  position.  Three  days 
after  his  arrival  he  was  invited  to  meet  a  council  of 
gentlemen  in  the  parlors  of  Dr.  Hodgkin,  F.  R.  G.  S. 
the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Calthorpe,  M.  H.  M.  P.  C., 
presiding,  with  Lord  Alfred  Churchill,  chairman.  These 
councils,  continuing  from  time  to  time,  terminated  in 
the  great  soiree  at  Whitehall,  July  27,  at  which  were 
invited  six  hundred  members  of  Parliament,  ending  in 
the  formation  of  the  African  Aid  Society,  numbering 
among  its  members  the  following  personages :  Rt.  Hon. 
Lord  Calthorpe,  the  Lord  Alfred  Churchill,  Hon.  Mr. 
Ashby,  Thomas  Bagnall,  Esq.,  J.  P.,  Rev.  J.  Baldwin 
Brown,  B.  A.,  Edward  Bullock,  Esq.,  George  Thomp- 
son, late  M.  P.,  Sir  Culling  Eardley  Eardley,  Bart.,  Sir 


IN  EUROPE.  97 

J.  H.  Leako,  Rear  Admiral,  Wm.  Me  Arthur,  Esq.,  Rev. 
Samuel  Morton,  M.  A.,  Jonathan  Richardson,  Esq., 
M.  P.,  Dr.  Norton  Shaw,  Secretary  Royal  Society,  Rev. 
Thomas  Mesac,  M.  A.,  Rev.  Mr.  Cardell,  M.  A.,  Henry 
Dunlop,  Esq.,  Ex-Lord  Provost  of  Glasgow. 

He  was  also  honored  with  the  privilege  of  being 
present  at  some  of  the  most  important  councils  in  be- 
half of  the  cause  of  King  Victor  Emmanuel,  at  which 
letters  from  the  distinguished  Garibaldi  and  the  prime 
minister,  Count  Cavour,  were  read. 

Besides  these  he  was  everywhere  the  recipient  of 
numerous  invitations,  both  for  public  and  private  re- 
ceptions, where  the  most  distinguished  courtesy  was 
extended  to  him.  While  in  London  he  attended  a 
grand  d'jeune  at  the  Crystal  Palace,  together  with 
three  hundred  and  fifty  other  guests,  representing  the 
elite  of  the  world  :  at  this  presided  the  late  Rt.  Hon. 
Earl  Stanhope,  Dr.  Delany  being  assigned  a  seat  at  the 
table  with  the  foreign  ambassadors  and  delegates. 

At  two  brilliant  gatherings  at  the  Gallery  of  Art  and 
Queen's  Rooms  he  participated.  In  his  hours  of  relax- 
ation from  business  engagements  connected  with  his 
explorations,  he  often  found  it  convenient  and  profit- 
able to  make  social  visits.  To  these  he  refers  often  as 
fraught  with  interesting  memories,  but  to  none  with 
more  pleasurable  recollection  than  a  visit  made  to  the 
venerable  and  learned  astronomer,  John  Lee,  Esq., 
D.  C.  L.,  where  he  attended  the  annual  festival  of 
Reform  held  by  him  in  the  great  park  of  his  residence 
at  Hartwell  Palace,  of  Elizabethan  memory,  and  as- 
signed by  the  British  government  to  Louis  XVIII. 
while  in  exile. 
7 


98  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

At  these  festivals  the  tenants  and  working-class 
gather,  and  partake  of  the  advantages  of  traffic  there 
oifered  in  wares  and  stores,  in  edibles  and  fancy  goods, 
as  the  good  Dr.  Lee  and  lady  apportion  for  their  bene- 
fit, together  with  the  sale  of  these  articles.  They  were 
entertained  with  addresses  on  moral  and  scientific  sub- 
jects by  distinguished  speakers  invited  for  the  occa- 
sion. 

This  continues  generally  for  three  days,  concluding 
with  various  gymnastic  and  muscular  exercises;  in 
some  the  wromen  take  part,  when  prizes  are  distrib- 
uted by  the  doctor  and  his  lady.  On  the  first  day 
of  the  festival  a  ceremony  is  observed,  which  enhances 
the  interest  of  the  occasion,  and  in  this  connection  will 
serve  to  illustrate  the  elegant  hospitalities  extended  to 
the  African  explorer.  A  committee,  selected  by  their 
host's  approval,  usually  meet  and  choose  as  president 
of  the  occasion  some  distinguished  person  present. .  A 
stranger  or  foreigner,  if  present,  is  invariably  honored 
with  the  position,  and  is  assigned,  in  this  event,  the 
historic  chambers  once  occupied  by  the  exiled  monarch 
of  France  and  his  queen,  furnished  with  the  ancient 
garniture  as  when  occupied  by  them. 

When  the  committee  returned,  they  announced,  as 
their  choice  for  president,  Dr.  M.  R.  Delany,  the  Afri- 
can explorer.  This  was  unexpected  by  him,  but  was 
heartily  received  by  the  guests  present,  some  sixty- 
three  in  number,  who  doubtless  understood  it  among 
themselves  prior  to  its  public  announcement. 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  99 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  STATISTICAL  CONGRESS 
AND   LORD   BROUGHAM. 

WHILE  in  London  transacting  business  connected 
with  the  exploration,  it  was  Delany's  privilege 
to  attain  a  distinction  never  before  reached  by  a  colored 
American  under  like  auspices. 

At  this  time  he  appeared  more  prominently  before 
the  American  public,  owing  to  his  presence  in  that 
august  assembly  known  as  the  International  Statistical 
Congress,  presided  over  by  His  Royal  Highness  Albert, 
Prince  Consort  of  England. 

At  this  Congress  had  convened  the  most  intellectual 
and  distinguished  representatives  of  all  the  nations  of 
the  civilized  world.*  To  this,  by  virtue  of  his  position 

*  Extract  from  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  fourth  ses- 
sion of  the  International  Statistical  Congress,  held  in  London, 
July  16,  I860,  and  the  five  following  days  :  — 

"  Opening  Meeting  of  the  Congress. 

"  At  four  o'clock  His  Royal  Highness,  the  Prince  Consort, 
arrived  at  Somerset  House,  attended  by  the  Earl  Spencer,  the 
Lord  Waterpark,  Major  General  Hon.  C.  Grey,  Colonel  F.  Sey- 
mour, C.  B.,  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ponsonby.  His  Royal  High- 
ness was  received  in  the  outer  hall  of  King's  College  by  the  Right 
Hon.  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  the  Right  Hon. 


100  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

and  acknowledged  scientific  acquirements,  he  received 
a  royal  commission,  and  sat,  during  its  session,  an  hon- 

"VV.  Cowpcr,  M.  P.,  Vice-President  of  the  Congress,  the  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  the  Earl  Stanhope,  Sir  James  Clark,  Bart.,  Rev. 
Dr.  Jeff,  Principal  of  King's  College,  and  Dr.  Guy,  and  the 
Secretaries,  Dr.  Earr,  Mr.  Valpy,  and  Mr.  Hammaek.  A  guard 
of  honor  of  the  Queen's  (Westminster)  Rifle  Volunteers,  with 
the  band  of  the  corps,  was  in  attendance  to  receive  his  Royal 
Highness. 

"Amongst  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen  present  were  the 
Honorary  Vice-President,  including  the  official  delegates,  His 
Excellency  the  Count  de  Persigny,  Ambassador  of  France ;  His 
Excellency  Monsieur  Musurus,  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and 
Plenipotentiary  of  Turkey;  Monsieur  Sylvain  Van  de  Weyer, 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Penipotentiary  of  Belgium ; 
the  Baron  dc  Cctto,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Pleni- 
potentiary of  Bavaria ;  the  Count  de  Bernstorff,  Envoy  Extraor- 
dinary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  Prussia;  the  Commander 
de  Carvalho  Moreira,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Pleni- 
potentiary of  Brazil ;  George  Mifflin  Dallas,  Esq.,  Envoy  Ex- 
traordinary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  of 
America;  the  Count  Apponyi,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minis- 
ter Plenipotentiary  of  Austria;  the  Count  de  Vitzthum,  Envoy 
Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  Saxony;  Mon- 
sieur de  La  Rive,  Envoy  Extraordinary  of  Switzerland ;  Lord 
Brougham,  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  Earl  Stanhope,  Lord  John 
Russell,  M.  P.,  Viscount  Ebrington,  Lord  Monteagle,  Lord 
Wriothesley,  Lord  Harry  Vane,  M.  P.,  the  Lord  Mayor,  Mr. 
Bouverie,  M.  P.,  Mr.  Slancy,  M.  P.,  Sir  John  Bowring,  Major 
General  Sir  C.  Paisley,  Rear  Admiral  Fitz  Roy,  Colonel  Sykes, 
M.  P.,  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Napier,  Right  Hon.  W.  Hurt,  M.  P., 
Mr.  Monckton  Milnes,  M.  P.,  Sir  Roderick  I.  Murchison,  Mr. 
Nassau,  Senior,  Mr.  Pollard  Urquhart,  M.  P.,  Sir  F.  H.  Goldsmid, 
Bart.,  M.  P.,  the  Registrar  General  of  England,  the  Registrar 
General  of  Ireland,  Sir  R.  M.  Bromley,  K.  C.  B.,  Mr.  Caird, 
M.  P.,  Mr.  Fonblanque,  Mr*  Crawfurd,  Mr.  Newmarch,  Mr. 


INTERNATIONAL  UONCUE^S.  101, 

ored  member.  His  remarkable  presence  would,  of  it- 
self, have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Continental 
members ;  but  a  movement  was  destined  to  render  him. 
more  conspicuous. 

The  value  of  his  position  in  that  learned  gathering 
was  doubly  enhanced  and  appreciated  by  him.  It  was 
a  triumphant  recognition  of  the  progress  of  his  race,  as 
well  as  of  the  ability  of  the  representative.  His  admis- 
sion into  that  Congress  was  not  based  upon  national 
credentials,  —  for  they  would  have  been  refused  to  him, 

Edwin  Chadwick,  Mr.  L.  J.  Leslie,  Mr.  S.  Gaskell,  Mr.  J.  Key- 
wood,  Mr.  Babbage,  Alderman  Salomans,  M.  P.,  Mr.  Mowbray 
Morris,  Mr.  T.  Chambers,  Mr.  Lumley,  Colonel  Dawson,  Dr. 
Babington,  Mr.  'J.  Glaisher,  Dr.  Balfour,  Dr.  Sutherland,  Mr. 
Hodge,  Mr.  Edgar,  Mr.  Hastings,  Mr.  T.  Webster,  Mr.  S. 
Redgrave,  Mr.  A.  Redgrave,  Professor  Leone  Levi,  Dr.  R.  D. 
Thomson,  Mr.  H.  G.  Bohn,  Mr.  Hendricks,  Sir  Ranald  Martin, 
C.  B.,  Dr.  Letheby,  Dr.  McWilliam,  C.  B.,  Mr.  Simon,  Mr. 
Horace  Mann,  Mr.  Hill  Williams,  Mr.  Panizzi,  Mr.  Tidd  Pratt, 
Dr.  Varrentrapp  of  Frankfort,  Dr.  Neumann  of  Berlin,  Dr. 
Milhry  of  Hanover,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Kennedy,  Mr.  F.  Purdy, 
Dr.  Norton  Shaw,  Mr.  A.  Bonham  Carter,  Mr.  R.  Hunt,  Mr.  W. 
Clode,  Chevalier  Hebeler,  M.  Koulomzine  and  M.  Yon  Bou- 
chen  of  Russia,  M.  Chatelain  of  Paris,  M.  Carr  van  der  Maeren, 
Le  Chevalier  Debrang,  Mr.  Peter  Hardy,  Captain  Sierakowski 
and  Professor  Kapoustine  of  Russia,  Dr.  Otto  HUbner,  M. 
Coquerel,  Professor  Chieherin  of  Mos.cow,  Dr.  Bialloblotzki, 
Mr.  J.  G.  Cogswell,  Mr.  D.  V.  McLean,  Dr.  Schwabe  of  Ber7 
lin,  M.  Villemsens  of  Paris,  Dr.  Delany  of  Canada,  Mr.  H, 
Ayres,  Mr.  T.  Michell,  M.  Grigorieff  of  St.  Petersburg,  the 
President  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  the  President  of  the 
College  of  Surgeons,  Dr.  Bryson,  Mr.  S.  Brown,  Mr.  Jellicoe, 
Mr.  Yates,  Mr.  Holland,  Dr.  Greenhill,  Captain  D.  Galton,  Mr. 
Thwaites,  and  a  large  body  of  gentlemen  who  had  been  specially 
invited  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Congress." 


'LIFE  WMA'jtfn  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

—  but  was  supported  by  his  individual  claims  as  the 
proud  representative  of  his  ancestral  land. 

His  sterling  ability  won  for  him  the  friendly  interest 
of  the  great  Lord  Brougham,  who,  at  the  first  meeting, 
called  the  attention  of  the  American  minister  to  him, 
which  remark,  being  construed  offensively,  resulted  in 
the  withdrawal  of  the  American  delegates,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Judge  Longstreet  of  Georgia.  Through 
them  and  their  pro-slavery  partisans  north  and  south, 
Major  Delariy  acquired  a  popularity  distasteful  with 
the  American  public,  to  whom  the  circumstance  was 
known  imperfectly,  and  then  only  in  a  prejudicial  man- 
ner. So  many  comments  were  made  by  the  press,  all 
tending  to  produce  the  utmost  unpleasantness  between 
the  two  countries,  that  it  seemed  likely  to  have  resulted 
in  a  more  disagreeable  misunderstanding,  but  was 
checked  by  the  inevitable,  ridicule  which  attached 
to  it. 

When  the  news  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  American 
delegates  first  reached  the  public,  it  was  through  an 
official  source — a  letter  from  Judge  Longstreet,  the 
American  representative  to  the  Congress.  It  was 
given  to  the  public  through  Hon.  Howell  Cobb,  of 
Georgia,  secretary  of  the  treasury  under  the  Buchanan 
administration.  And  as  it  was  only  through  this  me- 
dium, we  propose  to  furnish  the  statement  of  the  prin- 
cipal personage  in  the  affair,  decisive  and  trustworthy, 
and  also  to  reproduce  the  letter  of  Judge  Longstreet, 
which,  in  view  of  the  position  occupied  by  them  both 
at  this  time,  will  be  of  additional  interest. 

Delany  says,  — 

"This  is  a  subject  upon  which  I  never  desire  to  en- 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  103 

tcr.  Very  seldom  —  I  think  not  more  than  two  or 
three  times,  and  then  only  to  my  most  intimate  friends 
—  have  I  ever  related  the  circumstance,  and  always 
approached  it  with  sensitive  delicacy ;  because  to  at- 
tempt to  speak  about  it  without  relating  the  whole,  is 
to  make  it  ridiculous,  and  leave  on  the  mind  of  the 
auditor  the  impression  that  there  must  have  been  on 
the  part  of  the  distinguished  lord  a  most  absurd  and 
abrupt  intrusion  upon  the  transactions  and  doings  of 
that  dignified  body. 

"  And  since  Judge  Longstreet  withdrew  from  that 
body  immediately  after  the  organization,  and  before  do- 
ing anything,  going  home,  and  having  nothing  to  report 
but  the  cause  of  his  delinquency  or  remissness,  his  official 
report  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  necessarily  be- 
ing concerning  rne,  therefore  I  am  compelled  to  give 
the  facts  as  to  how  it  really  transpired.  And  certainly 
no  one  of  the  most  sensitive  delicacy  about  matters  of 
this  kind  will  accuse  me  of  dragging  in  extraneous  mat- 
ter. Indeed,  it  ceases  to  be  a  question  of  propriety, 
and  turns  entirely  upon  a  question  of  right,  as  to 
whether  or  not  I  have  the  right  of  self-defence  against 
an  attack  by  a  high  official  of  the  government?  Or 
is  it  not  the  government  which  attacks  me  through  its 
foreign  representative  and  cabinet  minister?  The  en- 
tire affair  was  contrary  to  my  desire,  and  by  no  means 
flattering  to  me,  as  Judge  Longstreet  reported  as  offi- 
cially follows." 

We  give  the  following  from  the  report  of  the  sec- 
retary of  the  treasury  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
I860:  — 


104  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


Letter  from  A.  13.  Longstreet  to  Howell  Cobb. 

LONDON,  July  21,  I860. 

SIR  :  My  mission  to  the  International  Congress  terminated  ab- 
ruptly, even  before  the  first  regular  meeting  for  the  transaction 
of  business. 

At  the  appointed  time  (16th  instant)  a  preliminary  meeting  was 
called,  to  appoint  officers  and  arrange  the  order  of  business  for 
the  regular  meetings.  All  the  foreign  delegates  were  declared  to 
be  vice-presidents,  and,  by  invitation  of  the  chairman,  took  their 
seats  as  such  upon  the  stand.  Lord  Brougham  was,  I  think,  the 
last  member  of  the  Congress  who  entered  the  hall,  and  was  ap- 
plauded from  the  first  glimpse  of  him  until  he  took  his  seat ;  it 
was  near  and  to  the  left  of  the  chair.  Mr.  Dallas,  appearing  as 
a  complimentary  visitor,*  was  seated  to  the  right,  in  a  rather 
conspicuous  position.  Things  thus  arranged,  the  assembly 
waited  the  presence  of  his  royal  highness,  the  prince  consort, 
who  was  to  preside  and  open  the  meeting  with  an  address.  He 
soon  appeared,  delivered  his  address,  and  took  his  seat.  As  soon 
as  he  concluded,  and  the  long-continued  plaudits  ceased,  Lord 
Brougham  rose,  complimented  the  speech  very  .highly  and  de- 
servedly, and  requested  all  who  approved  of  it  to  hold  up  their 
hands.  We  did  so,  of  course.  This  done,  he  turned  to  Mr. 
Dallas,  and  addressing  him  across  the  prince's  table,  said,  "  I 

*  Here,  as  elsewhere  mentioned,  Judge  Longstreet  is  again  in 
error,  he  not  having  remained  long  enough  to  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  Congress.  Mr.  Dallas  was  not  a  "  compli- 
mentary visitor,"  abstractly  considered,  as  the  judge's  reference 
would  infer,  but,  by  general  rule,  an  ex-officio  member  of  the  Con- 
gress, —  a  vice  president,  —  as  was  every  envoy  extraordinary, 
or  minister  plenipotentiary  to  her  majesty's  court,  and  conse- 
quently had  taken  his  seat  as  one  of  the  high  officials  of  an  In- 
ternational (the  World's)  Congress,  and  not  Great  Britain's,  much 
less  England's  Congress.  The  Congress  belonged  as  much  to 
Mr.  Dallas  as  to  his  lordship,  and,  may  it  be  permitted,  even  his 
royal  highness.  The  great  assembly  simply  sat  by  turn  of 
appointment  in  Great  Britain,  and  doubtless  in  time  will  come  to 
the  United  States,  especially  now  that  they  have  reached  the 
point  of  consummate  of  national  justice. 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  105 

call  the  attention  of  Mr.  Dallas  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  negro 
present  (or  among  the  delegates),  and  I  hope  he  will  have  no 
scruples  on  that  account."  This  appeal  was  received  by  the 
delegates  with  general  and  enthusiastic  applause.  Silence  being 
restored,  the  negro,  who  goes  by  the  name  of  Delany,  rose  and 
said,  "  I  thank  your  royal  highness  and  Lord  Brougham,  and 
have  only  to  say  that  I  am  a  man"*  This,  too,  was  applauded 
warmly  by  the  delegates.  I  regarded  this  an  ill-timed  assault 
upon  our  country,  a  wanton  indignity  offered  to  our  minister, 
and  a  pointed  insult  offered  to  me.  I  immediately  withdrew 
from  the  body.  The  propriety  of  my  course  is  respectfully  sub- 
mitted to  my  government. 

What  England  can  promise  herself  from  exciting  the  ire  of  the 
United  States,  I  cannot  divine.  Surely  there  is  nothing  in  the 
past  history  of  the  two  countries  which  offers  to  her  the  least 
encouragement  to  seek  contests  with  the  great  republic,  either 
national  or  individual.  Will  not  her  championship  of  the  slave 
against  his  master  be  in  full  time  when  the  slave  shall  complain 
of  his  lot  and  solicit  her  interference. 

My  reasons,  more  at  large,  for  the  course  that  I  have  pur- 
sued, will  be  found  in  the  London  Morning  Chronicle,  herewith 
transmitted,  which,  in  its  slightly-modified  form,  I  pray  you  to 
regard  as  a  part  of  my  report. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

A.    B.    LONGSTREET. 

Hon.  HOWELL  COBB,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 


The  American  Delegate  and  Lord  Brougham. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Morning  Chronicle. 

SIR  :  After  what  occurred  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Statisti- 
cal Congress,  I  withdrew  immediately  from  that  body,  intending 
to  offer  no  reasons  for  my  course,  because,  from  what  I  saw,  I 
judged  that  they  would  not  be  worth  the  paper  on  which  they 
might  be  written.  I  reserved  them,  therefore,  for  n>y  own  gov- 
ernment. After  waiting  a  while  to  see  what  comments  the 
papers  would  make  upon  the  opening  scenes  of  the  Congress,  I 


106  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

commenced  my  despatch  to  my  government;  but  a  friend,  in 
whose  opinions  I  have  great  confidence,  said  he  thought  I  ought 
to  address  the  people  here  in  vindication  of  myself.  Upon  this 
intimation  (for  it  was  rather  an  intimation  than  counsel)  I  sat 
down,  and,  amidst  a  thousand  doubts  and  interruptions,  wrote 
the  subjoined  communication.  I  was  just  bringing  it  to  a  close 
for  the  press  yesterday  (Thursday),  when  I  received  information 
that,  at  the  opening  of  the  meeting  on  the  day  previous,  Lord 
Brougham  had  explained  his  remarks  at  the  first  meeting,  as  I 
would  see  in  a  paper  referred  to,  and  the  information  came  with 
a  request  that  I  would  return  to  the  Congress.  I  read  the  ex- 
planation in  that  paper  and  two  others.  They  only  differ  in 
their  reports  of  it,  but  they  all  concur  in  making  his  lordship 
disavow  any  intention  to  show  any  disrespect  to  the  American 
minister  or  the  United  States ;  and  they  make  him  say  that  he 
merely  meant  to  call  to  notice  an  interesting  or  a  statistical  fact, 
viz. :  that  there  was  a  negro  in  the  assembly.  Now,  I  found 
myself  in  a  very  ticklish  predicament.  It  was  not  his  lordship's 
remarks  so  much  as  the  reception  they  met  with,  by  all  my  asso- 
ciates of  the  Congress,  that  determined  me  to  leave  it.  The 
signs  were  infallible  that  in  that  body  I  could  not  be  received  as 
an  equal,  either  in  country  or  in  character,  whil$  the  negro  was 
received  with  open  arms.  They  understood  his  lordship  as  I 
did.  All  the  papers  understood  him  in  the  same  way,  and  some 
of  them  glory  in  the  exposure  of  the  American  minister,  and 
promise  themselves  a  rich  treat  when  the  president  shall  dis- 
cover in  what  contempt  his  minister  is  held  here.  All  this  re- 
mains precisely  as  it  did  before  his  lordship's  explanation.  Of 
course,  therefore,  I  cannot  return  to  them.  They  would  receive 
me  courteously,  no  doubt,  —  possibly,  now,  with  plaudits,  —  but 
why?  Not  from  personal  respect  to  me  or  my  country,  but  to 
avoid  schism  in  the  society  —  to  preserve  its  popularity.  I  am 
only  three  years  removed  from  an  Englishman  (I  date  from  the 
birth  of  my  government),  and  I  have  too  much  English  spirit  in 
me  to  thrust  myself  into  any  company  upon  charity.  Had  the 
delegates  received  his  lordship's  remarks  with  a  silent  smile  (ill- 
timed  as  they  were),  and  Dr.  Delany's  response  in  the  same 
way,  I  never  should  have  left  the  Congress.  But  the  plaudits 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  107 

came  like  a  tempest  of  hail  upon  my  half-English  spirit.  Noth- 
ing, then,  in  the  piece  needs  qualification,  but  what  refers  to  his 
lordship's  intentions.  Learning  these  from  his  own  lips,  I  sat 
down  to  correct  it  in  all  that  imputed  to  him,  directly  or  im- 
pliedly,  wrong  intentions  and  wrong  feelings ;  but  I  found  that 
they  were  so  often  referred  to  in  a  vast  variety  of  ways,  so  often 
intermingled  with  sentiments  void  against  the  principal,  but 
good  against  the  indorsers,  and  in  all  respects  good  against  the 
leading  spirits  of  Europe  and  the  Congress,  and  so  essential  to 
the  harmony  and  grammatical  construction,  that  if  I  undertook 
to  correct  generally,  I  should  hardly  leave  it  printable  or  read- 
able. And  yet  the  piece  must  now  appear ;  for  if  not,  it  will  go 
forth  to  all  Europe  that  the  United  States  delegate  took  offence, 
pro-slavery  like,  at  an  old  man's  playful  remark,  left  the  Con- 
gress at  the  beginning,  and  that  neither  explanations  nor  en- 
treaties could  bring  him  back.  I  have  neither  time  nor  patience 
to  remodel  it,  much  less  to  rewrite  it.  I  am  called  away  to-day ; 
I  should  have  been  off  from  London  before.  In  my  dilemma  I 
have  concluded  to  publish  the  piece  just  as  I  wrote  it;  not 
now  as  fairly  representing  his  lordship,  but  as  exactly  represent- 
ing my  understanding  of  him  when  I  left  the  Congress,  and  the 
reasons.  I  am  at  the  bar  now,  and  I  am  to  be  judged  of  by  the 
reasonableness  of  my  interpretations  and  of  my  conduct  founded 
on  them.  I  beg  his  lordship,  in  consideration  of  my  situation, 
to  indulge  me  in  this.  In  return,  I  beg  the  reader  to  treat  as  re- 
voked, and  utterly  null  and  void,  every  reference  to  his  lordship 
that  is  in  the  slightest  degree  inconsistent  with  his  explanation. 
I  am  not  very  far  behind  him  in  years ;  I  have  long  been  his 
debtor,  and  I  esteem  him  almost  reverentially ;  and  if  he  is  not 
debtor  for  his  judicial  reform  bill  to  my  native  state,  there  is  the 
most  remarkable  coincidence  between  the  two  systems  that  ever 
occurred  since  the  world  began.  If  he  is,  he  ought  to  esteem 
me  for  my  state's  sake.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  are  too  old  to 
quarrel. 

A.   B.    LONGSTREET. 


108  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


To  the  Public. 

Before  I  terminate  my  first  and  last  visit  to  Europe,  I  deem  it 
due  to  my  country  and  myself  to  leave  behind  me  a  word  of 
comment  upon  a  most  remarkable  incident  of  that  visit.  It  may 
be  of  some  service  to  the  people  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
England  owes  to  my  country  much  respect  —  to  my  native 
state  a  little.  I  came  hither  as  a  delegate  (and  by  accident  the 
only  delegate)  from  the  United  States  to  the  International  Con- 
gress, now  in  session  at  this  place.  The  appointment  was  made 
by  request  of  the  authorities  of  this  country.  I  am  a  native  of 
the  State  of  Georgia,  the  birthplace  of  the  two  gallant  Tattnalls, 
the  one  well  known  to  me,  the  other  well  known  to  England.  He 
was  that  humane  and  chivalrous  commodore,  who,  at  the  peril 
of  his  commission  and  his  life,  rescued  the  captain  and  the  crew 
of  Hope's  sinking  ship  from  a  watery  grave  at  Peiho.  He  has 
received  much  praise  for  the  deed,  but  not  quite  all  that  is  due 
to  him,  for  in  yielding  to  his  generous  impulses,  he  forgot  that 
his  no  less  gallant  brother  was  borne  from  the  battle-field  at 
Point  Peter,  severely  wounded  by  British  muskets.  What  is 
done  in  war  should  be,  but  is  not,  always  forgotten  in  peace. 
The  commodore's  conduct  was  approved  by  his  government  — 
that  government  which  Mr.  Dallas  represents  at  the  court  of  St. 
James. 

The  Statistical  Congress  convened,  a  preliminary  meeting  was 
held  to  appoint  officers  and  arrange  the  order  of 'business.  All 
the  foreign  delegates  were  declared  to  be  vice-presidents,  and 
they  took  their  seats  on  the  platform  with  the  presiding  officer. 
Mr.  Dallas,  a  complimentary  visitor,  took  his  seat  to  the  right 
of  the  chair,  Lord  Brougham  to  the  left.  All  things  being  now 
in  readiness  for  the  opening  of  the  regular  meeting,  his  royal 
highness,  Prince  Albert,  appeared,  took  the  chair,  and  opened 
the  meeting  with  that  admirable  address  which  has  been  pub- 
lished, and  which  carries  its  highest  commendation  on  its  face. 
As  soon  as  he  had  concluded,  and  the  long-resounding  plaudits 
ceased,  Lord  Brougham  rose,  and  after  a  few  remarks  strongly 
and  deservedly  complimentary  of  the  address,  and  after  calling 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS/  109 

upon  all  present  to  testify  their  approval  of  it  by  holding  up 
their  hands,  ( !)  he  turned  to  the  American  minister,  and  ad- 
dressing him  across  the  table  of  his  royal  highness,  said,  "I 
call  the  attention  of  Mr.  Dallas  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  negro 
present,  and  I  hope  he  will  feel  no  scruples  on  that  account." 
This  appeal  to  the  American  minister  was  received  with  general 
applause  by  the  house.  The  colored  gentleman  arose,  and  said, 
"  I  thank  his  royal  highness  and  your  lordship,  and  have  only 
to  say  that  I  am  a  man."  And  this  was  received  with  loud 
applause. 

Now,  if  the  noble  lord's  address  to  the  American  minister  was 
meant  for  pleasantry,  I  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  the  time, 
the  subject,  and  the  place  were  exceedingly  unpropitious  to  such 
sallies.  If  it  was  meant  for  sarcasm,  it  was  equally  unfortunate 
in  conception  and  delivery.  If  it  was  meant  for  insult,  it  was 
mercilessly  cruel  to  his  lordship's  heart,  refinement,  dignity,  and 
moral  sense*  I  could  readily  have  found  an  apology  for  it  in  his 
lordship's  locks  and  wrinkles,  if  it  had  not  been  so  triumphantly 
applauded.  The  European  delegates  understood  it;  the  colored 
gentleman  understood  it ;  and  from  the  response  of  the  latter  we 
can  collect  unerringly  its  import.  It  was  meant  as  a  boastful 
comparison  of  his  lordship's  country  with  the  minister's.  It  was 
meant  as  a  cutting  reflection  upon  that  country  where  negroes 
are  not  admitted  to  the  councils  of  white  men.  This  is  the  very 
least  and  best  that  can  be  made  of  it,  and  the  dignity  of  th,e 
American  minister's  character  and  office,  his  entire  disconnec- 
tion with  slavery  personally,  and  his  peculiar  position  in  the 
assembly,  were  no  protection  to  his  country  from  this  humiliat- 
ing assault;  nay,  he  is  selected  as  the  vehicle  of  it  before  the 
assembled  wisdom  of  Europe,  who  signify  openly  their  approba- 
tion of  it.  All  the  city  papers  that  I  have  seen  differ  from  each 
other  in  their  report  of  this  matter,  but  they  all  soften  its  rugged 
features  somewhat.  The  Times  is  the  most  correct,  but  at  fault 
in  making  Lord  Brougham  preface  his  remarks  to  Mr.  Dallas 
with,  "I  hope  my  friend,  Mr.  Dallas,  will  forgive  me  for  re- 
minding him,"  &c.,  and  in  making  Dr.  Delany  (the  colored  gen- 
tleman) say  to  Lord  Brougham,  "  who  is  always  a  most  unflinch- 
ing friend  of  the  negro."  If  one  or  the  other  of  these  remarks 


110  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  11.  DELANY. 

were  made,  I  did  not  hear  it ;  the  doctor  would  hardly  have  used 
the  last. 

Now,  I  take  leave  to  say  that  a  Briton  was  the  last  man  on 
earth  who  should  cast  contemptuous  reflections  upon  the  United 
States,  and  the  delegates  the  last  men  on  earth  who  should  have 
countenanced  them.  Not  one  of  them,  not  a  man  on  all  the 
broad  surface  of  Europe,  can  assail  that  country  without  assail- 
ing some  near  home-born  friend  of  his  own  language  and  blood, 
or  some  kinsman  by  short  lineage  from  a  common  ancestry. 
She  spreads  herself  out  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from 
the  Gulf  to  the  Lakes,  and  through  all  her  length  and  breadth  she 
is  one  vast  asylum  for  the  poor,  the  oppressed,  the  down- 
trodden, the  persecuted  of  the  world.  Her  sons  are  a  multitu- 
dinous brotherhood  of  all  climes,  religions,  and  tongues,  living  to- 
gether in  harmony,  peace,  and  equality,  so  far  as  these  can  possi'nly 
prevail  within  her  borders.  •  Say  what  you  may,  think  as  you  may, 
sneer  as  you  may,  at  her  "peculiar  institutions;"  she  is,  after 
all,  the  good  Samaritan  of  nations.  Do  a  people  cry  and  waste 
from  famine?  She  loads  her  ships  with  supplies,  and  lays  them 
at  the  sufferer's  doors  without  money  and  without  price.  Do  an 
oppressed  people  strike  for  liberty?  You  will  find  some  of  her 
sons  under  their  flag.  Does  a  wife's  cry  come  across  the  water 
for  help  to  find  a  noble,  long-missing  husband?  She  fits  out  her 
ships  ;  her  volunteers  man  them  ;  they  search  nearly  to  the  pole  ; 
learn  the  husband's  fate ;  disburden  the  wife's  heart  from  sus- 
pense, and  then  lie  down  and  die  from  the  exposure  and  toils  of 
the  search.  Does  she  find  a  nation's  sloop  of  war  afloat,  still 
sound  but  unmanned?  She  puts  her  in  decent  trim,  and  sends 
her  to  her  owner  in  charge  of  her  own  men  and  at  her  own  ex- 
pense. "  Bear  with  me."  If  "  I  am  become  a  fool  in  glorying, 
ye  have  compelled  me,  for  I  ought  to  have  been  commended  to 
you." 

Such  a  nation  is  not  to  be  taunted,  certainly  not  by  Great 
Britain.  Her  slavery  is  a  heritage,  not  a  creature  of  her  own 
begetting.  It  was  forced  on  her  against  her  wishes,  her  prayers, 
and  her  protestations;  screwed  down  upon  her,  pressed  into  her, 
until  it  has  become  so  completely  incorporated  with  her  very 
being,  that  it  is  now  impossible  to  eradicate  it.  The  term 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  Ill 

"  slave  property,"  is  borrowed;  it  is  not  of  her  coinage.  In  all 
her  slave  states  there  are  not  ten  men  living  (until  very  recently 
not  one)  who  ever  made  a  slave  of  a  free  man,  counting  the 
Hottentot  a  freeman.  Their  sin,  then,  is  not  in  making  slaves, 
but  in  not  restoring  them  to  liberty,  in  courtesy  to  the  sensibili- 
ties of  those  who  made  them  for  us.  Before  they  make  this 
exaction  of  us,  they  surely  ought  to  have  the  magnanimity  of 
Judas,  and  lay  the  price  at  our  feet.  But  let  us  look  into  this 
matter  a  little. 

There  are  about  4,000,000  of  slaves  in  the  United  States. 
They  are  worth,  at  a  very  moderate  calculation,  $240,000,000; 
but  as  we  wish  to  keep  within  the  realm  of  morality,  we  cast 
that  little  item  aside.  There  they  are,  from  a  day  old  to  one 
hundred  years  old  —  ignorant,  helpless,  thriftless,  penniless. 
What  would  become  of  them  if  set  free?  They  would  suffer, 
languish,  die.  Does  charity,  does  religion,  demand  of  us  to 
put  them  in  that  condition  ?  How  are  they  to  live  ?  "Support 
them  yourselves,"  said  a  man  to  me  once,  of  more  negrophilism 
than  brains.  What  would  we  have  to  support  them  on,  and 
what  obligation  is  there  upon  one  class  of  freemen  to  support 
another?  The  very  act  of  emancipation  would  consign  nine- 
teen twentieths  of  the  masters  to  abject  penury  and  want.  There 
would  be  no  more  conscience,  mercy,  or  remorse  in  the  scramble 
between  the  races  for  the  provision  on  hand  at  the  date  of  the 
act,  than  there  is  for  the  means  of  safety  among  the  crew  of  a 
sinking  ship.  The  last  year's  crop  of  cotton  was,  in  round 
numbers,  4,500,000  bales.  Three  fourths  of  this  amount  goes 
abroad,  and  most  of  it  to  England.  Will  the  reader  take  the 
trouble  to  compute  the  amount  of  shipping  it  takes  to  transport 
that  quantity  of  cotton  from  America  to  Europe,  the  number  of 
hands  employed  in  the  transportation,  and  the  number  em- 
ployed in  working  up  the  raw  material?  Shipping,  seamen, 
manufacturers,  under-workmen,  must  all  go  by  the  board  the 
first  year  of  emancipation.  Now,  add  to  the  exports  80,000 
tierces  of  rice  and  128,000  hogsheads  of  tobacco  in  the  same 
category  (nearly),  and  tell  me  if  it  is  possible  to  conceive  of  a 
greater  calamity  that  could  befall  the  world  than  the  immediate 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  of  the  United  States.  Nine  millions, 


112  LIFE  OF  MA  JOE  M.  R.  DELANY. 

at  least,  would  certainly  be  ruined  by  it  (the  slaves  and  their 
masters),  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  measure;  and  hundreds  of 
thousands,  if  not  millions  more,  in  the  free  states  and  king- 
doms, i.  e.,  all  who  are  dependent  upon  cotton,  rice,  and  tobacco 
in  any  way  for  a  living,  —  as  its  ultimate  fruits.  Will  it  be  said 
that  the  negroes  will  still  produce  these  articles  for  their  own 
benefit?  How  could  they,  unless  the  masters  would  give  them 
the  land  to  cultivate,  implements  to  till  it,  and  food  and  clothing 
for  one  year?  To  do  this  would  cost  the  masters  at  least  two 
hundred  million  dollars  more;  and  what  would  become  of  the 
whites  and  their  dependants  in  the  mean  time?  But  if  the 
negroes  had  the  outfit,  they  would  not  mate  the  fifth  part  of  these 
articles  the  first  year.  Look  at  your  freedmen  in  the  West 
Indies.  We  regard  them  as  a  warning,  riot  as  an  encourage- 
ment. In  the  face  of  the  thunderbolt,  I  would  assert  that  our 
slaves  are  infinitely,  healthier,  holier,  and  happier,  than  your 
freedmen.  Will  it  be  said  that  white  labor  would  supply  their 
places?  How  could  we  hire  white  labor?  And  if.it  performed 
the  work,  where  would  the  slaves  be  ?  But  what  of  foreigners 
'dependent  upon  those  articles?  Will  it  be  said  the  shipping  and 
labor  would  be  turned  into  other  channels?  What  other?  The 
world  does  not  produce  the  article,  nor  the  wants  of  the  world  a 
demand  for  them,  if  it  did.  This  thing  of  diverting  large 
amounts  of  labor  and  capital  from  one  channel  into  another,  is  a 
work  of  time ;  it  cannot  be  accomplished  in  a  day.  They  who 
have  seen  the  effects  of  a  change  of  fashion,  simply  upon  many 
laborers,  may  form  some  distant  idea  of  the  consequences  of 
turning  millions  of  property  and  labor  into  new  channels. 
Time  may  turn  the  sailor  into  a  farmer,  but  death  would  over- 
take him  before  employment,  where  there  were  practised  farmers 
enough  to  supply  the  demand. 

Now,  I  co-uld  say  much  more  to  show  the  utter  impractica- 
bility of  emancipation  in  the  United  States,  even  upon  the  score 
of  humanity ;  but  enough  is  said  until  what  is  said  be  fairly  an- 
swered. Until  it  is  fairly  answered,  until  some  practicable  means 
is  pointed  out  of  ridding  ourselves  of  slavery,  I  enter  my  most 
solemn  protest  against  all  denunciation  of  our  country  on  account 
of  it.  It  is  like  denouncing  a  man  because  he  carries  an  incurable 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  113 

disease ;  and  coming  from  British  lips,  it  is  like  stabbing  a  man, 
and,  while  catching  his  blood  to  work  into  puddings,  abusing  him 
for  bleeding,  and  crying  out  all  the  time,."  Cure  yourself!  cure 
yourself  !  or  keep  out  of  decent  company !  "  But  if  abuse,  vilifi- 
cation, sarcasm,  and  contempt,  are  to  be  the  lot  of  slaveholders, 
let  it  be  the  lot  of  slaveholders  alone,  and  of  those  alone  who 
thrust  themselves  unbidden  into  the  society  of  their  betters. 

Whatever  his  lordship  did  not  intend  by  the  remark,  —  and  I 
am  ready  to  believe  that  he  did  not  intend  to  wound,  —  he  cer- 
tainly did  intend  to  bring  to  the  minister's  notice  that  England 
made  no  distinction  between  men  on  account  of  their  color ;  and 
herein  his  lordship  was  lamentably  unfortunate,  for  the  whole 
scene  showed  that  not  only  he,  but  all  his  applauders,  make  a 
marked  distinction  between  colors.  Would  not  his  lordship 
have  had  more  respect  for  the  feelings  of  any  white  man  than  to 
have  made  him  the  object  of  special  notice  —  and  such  a  notice  ! 
—  to  men  gathered  from  all  quarters  of  the  world?  Would  his 
lordship's  discourtesy  to  a  white  man  have  been  applauded,  as  it 
was,  by  gentlemen  of  refinement  and  delicacy?  True,  it  hit 
Dr.  Delany's  sensibilities  exactly  in  the  right  place,  for  he  re- 
turned thanks  for  it ;  but  the  chances  were  a  thousand  to  one 
that  it  would  have  enkindled  his  indignation.  "  What !  "  he  was 
likely  to  have  said,  "is  it  a  boast  of  the  nobility  of  England  that 
I  am  admitted  to  a  seat  among  white  men  ?  "  His  thanksgiving, 
too,  was  applauded  —  a  thing  not  exactly  in  keeping  with  our 
ordinary  dealings  with  white  men.  And  when  he  proclaimed 
the  indubitable  fact,  "that  he  was  a  man,"  again  he  was  ap- 
plauded. If  any  other  man  had  arisen  in  the  assembly,  and  said 
the  selfsame  thing,  he  would  have  been  laughed  at,  not  ap- 
plauded. Again  :  his  lordship  pointed  him  out  as  a  "  negro,"  — 
that  was  the  word,  —  not,  as  some  of  the  gazettes  have  it,  a  "  col- 
ored person,"  or  "  colored  gentleman ;  "  the  Times  has  it  right. 
Now,  if  he  had  felt  a  due  regard  for  the  doctor's  rank,  would  he 
not  have  softened  his  designation,  as  the  papers  have  kindly 
done  for  him  ?  I  am  told  that  the  doctor  is  a  member  of  the 
Geographical  Society,  and  a  delegate  from  Canada.  If  so,  I 
demand,  by  all  the  canons  of  courtesy,  why  he  was  not  called 
to  the  stand  as  one  of  the  vice-presidents,  and  placed  right 


114  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

between  Mr.  Dallas  and  myself  ?  Here  would  have  been  a  scenic 
representation  of  thrilling  moral  effect  —  more  eloquent  of  Old 
England's  love  of  freedom  and  contempt  of  mastery  than  all 
lip-compliments  of  all  her  nobles  put  together.  Or,  if  that  seat 
was  too  low  for  the  doctor,  why  was  he  not  placed  between  Lord 
Brougham  and  the  chair?  Had  I  seen  him  there,  verily  my  own 
heart  would  have  swelled  with  a  compliment  to  noble  Old  Eng- 
land which  no  lips  could  have  fitly  uttered.  Where  was  the 
doctor  at  the  prince's  reception  ?  I  did  not  see  him  there.  To 
what  section  does  he  belong?  I  do  not  find  him  allotted  to- 
either.  To  how  many  of  the  entertainments  has  he  been  in- 
vited? Now,  in  all  this,  I  detect  a  lurking  feeling,  ever  and 
anon  peeping  out,  which  convinces  me  that  the  colored  man  is 
yet  far,  very  far,  below  the  white  man  in  public  estimation,  even 
in  Europe;  and,  until  this  is  conquered,  let  not  the  European 
assume  to  lecture  the  American  upon  his  duty  to  the  slave,  or 
upon  the  equality  of  the  races.  Why,  if  the  thing  is  fated  to  us, 
like  death,  can  any  man  of  common  humanity  and  generosity 
take  pleasure  in  throwing  it  "in  our  teeth?  Slavery  is  either  a 
blessing  or  a  curse.  If  a  blessing,  why  disturb  us  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  it?  You  Englishmen  ought  to  plume  yourselves  upon 
it,  for  it  is  your  benefaction.  If  a  curse,  you  should  not  embitter 
it.  We  regard  it  as  a  blessing;  why  disenchant  us  of  the  delu- 
sion? You  say  it  is  a  great  sin.  I  doubt  it,  as  I  find  it; 
and  shall  ever  doubt,  while  Paul's  Epistle  to  Philemon  is  univer- 
sally acknowledged  an  inspired  epistle.  (See  note  on  page  115.) 
But  suppose  it  a  sin;  has  God  commissioned  you  to  reform  it? 
and  do  you  think  you  ever  will  reform  it  by  eternally  sprinkling 
vitriol  upon  the  master?  As  for  your  contempt,  we  would  rather 
not  have  it,  to  be  sure ;  but  if  you  will  be  content  with  that,  we 
will  live  in  peace  forever,  for  it  is  an  article  in  equal  store  on 
both  sides.  If  you  cannot  condescend  to  our  company,  we  will 
not  complain  at  giving  a  place  to  Dr.  Delany,  and  we  can  beatify 
you  with  four  millions  precisely  such.  But  in  your  intercourse 
with  us,  do  not,  for  your  own  sakes,  forget  all  the  rules  of  deli- 
cacy, benevolence,  and  humanity,  for  every  adult  of  us  can 
stand  up  and  say,  "  I  am  a  man!  "  Farewell  to  thee,  London, 
foe  a  short  time ;  one  more  brief  look  at  thy  wonders,  and  then 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  115 

farewell  forever !  Another  visit  to  Liverpool ;  I  like  her  better 
than  London,  because  she  likes  my  people  better.  "  Interest!  " 
"  Cotton  !  "  It  may  be  so,  but  I  am  grateful  for  love  of  any  kind 
in  England.  Never,  in  all  my  long,  long  life,  did  my  heart- 
strings knit  around  a  fair  one  so  quickly  and  so  closely,  as  they 
did  around  a  lady  in  London,  who  approached  me,  'and  said, 
"  Mr.  Longstreet,  I  must  get  acquainted  with  you.  I  love 
your  country ;  I  have  several  kinsmen  there."  That's  natural ; 
that's  woman-like.  It  is  for  man  to  draw  favors  from  a  country 
and  curse  her.  God  bless  her!  And  God  bless  the  family  in 
which  she  said  it.  As  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  slaveholders, 
are  in  heaven,  I  hope  to  get  there,  too."  May  I  meet  them  all 
there!  But  whither  am  I  wandering?  Liverpool  —  another 
look  at  Liverpool,  another  benefice  to  the  English  Cunard  line, 
and  then  farewell  to  Europe  forever  and  forever ! 

A.  B.  LONGSTREET. 

P.  S.  I  forgot  to  mention  many  kind  invitations  that  I  have 
received  from  distinguished  personages.  I  declined  them  all, 
not  indifferently  nor  disrespectfully,  but  because  they  were  obvi- 
ously given  to  me  as  a  member  of  the  Congress,  which  I  was 
not  when  they  reached  me,  and  never  shall  be. 

NOTE.  The  Epistle  to  Philemon  has  been  an  enigma  to  com- 
mentators for  seventeen  hundred  years.  That  it  is  the  fruit  of 
divine  inspiration  has  never  been  questioned  by  Christians  ;  and 
it  is  but  a  letter  from  Paul  to  a  brother,  pleading  for  a  runaway 
slave  whom  he  sent  home  to  his  master.  Read  it,  and  see  the 
Christians  who  joined  in  it.  In  Paul's  day  they  did  not  steal 
negroes  and  murder  their  masters.  There  were  no  Browns  and 
Hugos  in  those  days.  Philemon  was  beloved  of  Paul,  was 
doubtless  a  preacher,  and  had  a  church  in  his  house.  Is  not  the 
enigma  now  solved?  Can  we  not  now  see  why  the  epistle  was 
inspired?  What  would  become  of  us  if  we  were  bound  to 
emancipate  under  all  circumstances,  or  forfeit  heaven  ?  I  have 
only  hinted  at  the  horrors  of  the  thing. 

"It  was  marie  the  subject  of  inquiry  by  some  as  to 
the  means  by  which  I  entered  that  scientific  assem- 


116  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

blage.  It  was  through  the  same  doorway  which  ad- 
mitted every  other  member,  not  a  delegated  represen- 
tative, that  is,  a  royal  commission. 

"  By  the  established  usages  of  this  annual  assembly, 
any  persons  of  known  scientific  attainments,  great 
authorship,  mechanical  inventions  of  mathematical 
complication,  researches  and  discoveries  in  topograph- 
ical, geological,  or  geographical  explorations,  are  re- 
garded as  legitimately  entitled  to  the  consideration  of 
the  royal  commissioners,  three  of  whom  are  always 
appointed  by  the  sovereign  or  ruler  of  that  country  to 
which  the  succeeding  Congress  is  assigned  to  meet. 
These  commissioners  have  all  the  arrangement  of  the 
coming  Congress  in  their  hands,  and  issue  all  the  com- 
missions of  special  membership  to  those  not  accredited 
as  national  representative  delegates. 

"  By  courtesy,  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  every 
nation  present  are  ex-officio  vice-presidents,  with  two 
specially  selected  vice-presidents. 

"  When  the  time  drew  near  for  the  arrival  of  his 
royal  highness,  the  Congress  was  organized,  the  mem- 
bers taking  their  seats,  and  the  official  dignitaries  seated 
on  the  platform. 

"  The  royal  crimson  chair,  and  one  on  either  side 
reserved  for  the  prince  and  his  associates,  vice-presi- 
dents, were  vacant.  Great  demonstrations  were  made, 
which  gave  evidence  that  some  important  personage 
approached,  when  it  was  soon  observed  that  it  was  the 
arrival  of  the  ex-lord  high  chancellor  of  England. 
He  was  escorted  to  his  seat  on  the  platform. 

"  Soon  after,  music  was  heard,  succeeded  by  the  entry 
of  pages,  unrolling  the  crimson  carpet,  which  preceded 


INTERNATIONAL    CONGRESS.  117 

the  entry  of  the  prince  president.  At  this  the  whole 
Congress  arose  to  their  feet,  with  rousing  claps  of 
applause.  Ascending  the  platform,  his  royal  high- 
ness stood  before  the  chair  of  state,  bowed,  and  took 
his  seat,  when  immediately  the  Hon.  George  M.  Dallas, 
the  American  minister,  and  the  Right  lion.  Lord 
Brougham,  were  conducted  by  the  royal  commis- 
sioners to  the  vacant  seats  on  the  right  and  left  of  his 
royal  highness. 

"  The  prince,  with  his  usual  dignity,  now  arose, 
bowed,  and  commenced  reading  one  of  the  most  pro- 
found and  philosophically  simple  and  comprehensive 
addresses  delivered  during  the  present  century. 

"In  the  course  of  his  remarks,  he  alluded  to  his 
former  preceptor,  Count  Yishers,  paying  great  compli- 
ments to  him.  He  concluded  amidst  suppressed  ap- 
plause, suggestive  of  a  feeling  which  hesitated  to  show 
itself,  for  fear  of  committing  an  impropriety  before  the 
royal  author.  That  great  and  generous-hearted  gen- 
tleman, Lord  Brougham,  instantly  arose,  and  addressing 
the  Congress,  said,  '  I  rise  not  to  address  myself  to  his 
royal  highness,  but  to  you,  my  lords  and  gentlemen 
of  the  Congress,  not  to  permit  the  presence  of  his 
royal  highness  to  restrain  you  from  giving  vent  and 
full  scope  to  that  outburst  of  applause,  which  you  are 
desirous  of  giving  in  approbation  of  that  great  good 
sense,  philosophical  and  most  extraordinary  discourse, 
to  which  we  have  had  the  honor  and  pleasure,  as  well 
as  profit,  of  listening.' 

"  Immediately  taking  his  seat,  the  assemblage  gave 
vent  to  rapturous  applause.  As  it  concluded,  he  again 
rose  to  his  feet,  remarking  in  general  terms  that  it  was 


118  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

a  most  extraordinary  assemblage  of  the  world's  wis- 
dom, and  that  those  who  were  there  were  fortunate  in 
being  members  of  such  a  body,  presided  over  by  that 
great  personage,  the  prince  consort  of  England. 

"  He  also  made  allusions  to  the  presence  of  the 
imperial  director  of  public  works  from  France,  the  rep- 
resentatives from  Brazil,  Spain,  and  some  other  coun- 
tries, as  an  evidence  of  the  progress  of  the  age ;  then 
taking  his  seat,  and  instantly  arising  in  such  a  hasty 
manner,  as  though  something  important  had  been 
omitted,  that  he  attracted  the  attention  of  the  entire 
assembly;  when,  extending  his  hands  almost  across 
his  Royal  Highness,  he  remarked,  ll  would  remind 
my  friend,  Mr.  Dallas,  that  there  is  a  negro  member 
of  this  Congress '  (directing  his  hand  towards  me)  : 
smiling,  he  resumed  his  seat.  Mr.  Dallas,  seeming  to 
receive  this  kindly,  bowed  and  smiled. 

"  Count  Vishers  now  rose  to  reply  to  the  compli- 
ments made  to  him  by  the  prince ;  then  followed  the 
director  of  the  public  works  from  France,  followed 
by  the  Brazilian  representative,  and  concluding  with 
the  Spanish  diplomatist. 

"While  I  fully  comprehended  his  lordship's  interest, 
meaning,  and  its  extent,  the  thought  Unshed  instantly 
across  my  mind,  How  will  this  assembly  take  it?  May 
it  not  be  mistaken  by  some,  at  least,  as  a  want  of  genu- 
ine respect  for  my  presence,  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  remarks  were' made?  And  again,  would  not  my 
silence  be  regarded  as  inability  to  comprehend  a  want 
of  deference  on  the  part  of  his  lordship?  Or  should  I 
not  be  accused  of  regarding  as  a  compliment  a  dis- 
paraging allusion  towards  me?  These  thoughts  passed 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  119 

through  my  mind  so  soon  as  his  lordship  concluded 
his  remarks,  and  as  soon  as  the  minister  from  Spain 
was  seated,  I  rose  in  my  place,  and  said,  — 

"  'I  rise,  your  Royal  Highness,  to  thank  his  lordship, 
the  unflinching  friend  of  the  negro,  for  the  remarks  he 
has  made  in  reference  to  myself,  and  to  assure  your 
royal  highness  and  his  lordship  that  I  am  a  man?  I 
then  resumed  my  seat.  The  clapping  of  hands  com- 
menced on  the  stage,  followed  by  what  the  London 
Times  was  .pleased  to  call  '  the  wildest  shouts  ever 
manifested  in  so  grave  an  assemblage.' 

"  So  soon  as  the  applause  had  subsided,  the  prince 
arose  and  announced  the  Congress  adjourned,  to  meet 
at  two  o'clock  the  next  day;  the  sections  to  meet  in 
their  several  departments  at  ten,  to  meet  the  general 
Congress  at  two. 

"  These  were  my  words  verbatim.  Why  Judge 
Longstreet's  sarcastic  interpolations,  I  do  not  know, 
nor  am  I  able  to  account  for  such  manifestations. 

"  They  were  not  simply  British,  as  the  learned  judge 
complained  in  his  singular  report  to  the  secretary  of 
the  treasury,  'because  the  loudest  and  wildest  shouts' 
came  from  the  Continental  members.  These  man- 
ifestations I  can  only  attribute  to  a  spontaneous 
outburst  of  gratification  to  them  at  a  scene  so  unex- 
pected in  all  its  relations,  without  any  reference  what- 
ever to  the  United  States.  And  Judge  Longstreet 
entirely  misinterpreted  the  interest  and  meaning  of  the 
manifestation. 

"  I  take  pleasure  in  making  the  correction  now,  as 
far  as  the  .generous  great  are  concerned,  that  it 
may  be  favorably  recorded  in  the  history  of  our  time, 


120  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

because  they  would  not  beg  an  interpretation  at  the 
hands  of  those  who  wilfully  persist  in  an  historic  mis- 
representation of  that  which  in  all  diplomatic  and 
national  civility  —  to  say  nothing  of  generosity  — 
should  have  been  understood  and  accepted  by  all 
present. 

"  The  next  day,  when  the  general  Congress  convened, 
on  calling  for  the  reports  from  the  several  sections, 
wrhich  presented  the  papers  for  ratification  before  that 
body,  alphabetically  arranged,  and  by  courtesy  com- 
mencing with  America,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
entire  American  representation,  except  Dr.  Jarvis,  from 
Boston,  Mass.,  had  withdrawn, —  the  fact  being  stated 
by  the  doctor,  who  presented  the  paper  placed  in  his 
hands  by  Judge  Longstreet,  whose  office  it  was  to 
present  it  as  head  of  the  representation,  and  only  di- 
rect national  delegate  (Dr.  Jarvis  being  only  a  state 
delegate).  Lord  Brougham,  the  first  vice-president, 
who,  in  the  absence  of  the  royal  president,  filled  the 
chair,  arose,  remarking,  '  This  reminds  me  of  a  state- 
ment made  in  the  papers  this  morning,  that  I  had  de- 
signedly wounded  the  feelings  of  the  American  min- 
ister at  this  court,  which  I  deny  as  farthest  from  my 
intention,  as  all  who  know  me  (and  I  appeal  to  the 
American  minister  himself,  Mr.  Dallas  being  a  friend 
of  mine),  whether  I  have  not  uniformly  stood  forth  as 
the  friend  of  that  government  and  people  ?  Xow,  what 
is  this  "  offence  "  complained  of?  Why,  on  the  opening 
of  this  august  assemblage  (possibly  the  largest  in  num- 
ber, and  the  most  learned,  that  the  world  ever  saw  to- 
gether from  different  nations,  to  be  among  whom  any 
man  might  feel  proud,  as  an  evidence  of  his  advance, 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  121 

civilization,  and  attainments),  what  is  the  fact  ?  Why,' 
here  we  see,  even  in  this  unequalled  council,  a  son  of 
Africa,  one  of  that  race  whom  we  have  been  taught  to 
look  upon  as  inferior.  I  only  alluded  to  this  as  one  of 
the  most  gratifying  as  well  as  extraordinary  facts  of 
the  age." 

"The  noble  and  philanthropic  lord  then  took  his 
seat  amidst  another  cause  of  offence" 

These  are  the  facts  of  that  historical  incident  quoted 
from  his  own  writings  on  the  subject.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  motive  underlying  the  action  of  the 
southern  judge  besides  the  reasons  given  to  the  public 
by  him,  it  is  not  our  province  to  interfere  with ;  but 
if  it  were  his  intention  to  bring  the  high-toned  negro 
delegate,  receiving  the  same  honors  accorded  to  the 
other  members  of  the  Congress,  into  derision,  in  his 
undignified  haste  his  failure  was  most  signal  in  Europe, 
as  well  as  with  most  thinking  persons,  not  governed  by 
their  prejudices,  in  America.* 


*  As  to  the  insulting  allusion  on  page  114,  presented  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  British  public,  that  the  American  slaveholders 
could  «'  beatify  them  with  precisely  four  millions  such  as  my- 
self," alluding  to  their  degraded^  uneducated  slaves,  I  am  ad- 
monished against  retaliating  in  a  manner  which  would  otherwise 
be  justifiable  in  view  of  the  great  changes  brought  about  by  the 
mistaken  cherished  ideas  of  such  gentlemen  as  Judge  Longstreet, 
and  the  consequent  effects  everywhere  throughout  the  South, 
imploringly  staring  us  in  the  face. 

And  in  reply  to  the  inquiry,  page  114,  "  To  what  section  does 
he  belong?  I  do  not  find  him  allotted  to  either,"  a  reply  will  be 
found  in  the  Transactions  of  the  International  Statistical  Con- 
gress, London,  I860 ;  and  had  he  remained  to  "  belong  to  a  sec- 
tion "  at  all,  he  would  have  been  clear  of  the  historical  blunder 
which  he  is  found  to  have  made. 

And  finally,   regarding  the  singular  inquiry,  page  114,  "  To 


122  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

The  following  comment,  written  at  the  time,  is  from 
the  papers  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Frederick  Douglas,  who, 
towering  in  colossal  grandeur  beside  the  self-made  he- 
roes of  our  country,  his  eagle  glance  noting  every  pulse- 
throb  of  the  great  American  body  politic,  seems  a  proper 
exponent  of  these  indisputable  facts. 

"  Dallas  and  Delany. 

"  Some  of  our  American  journals,  to  whom  black  in 
anything  else  than  in  the  human  heart  is  a  standing 
offence,  are  just  now  '  taking  on  '  very  ruefully  about 
what  they  are  pleased  to  call  a  flagrant  insult  offered 
to  the  American  minister,  Mr.  G.  M.  Dallas,  by  Lord 
Brougham,  at  a  meeting  of  the  International  Statisti- 
cal Congress,  held  in  London.  Small  pot's  boil  quick, 
and  soon  dry  up,"  but  they  do  boil  terribly  while  they 
are  at  it. 

"It  would  hardly  be  safe  to  say  whereunto  our  pres- 
ent wrath  would  carry  us,  were  we  not  somewhat  re- 
strained and  held  down  by  the  onerous  burdens  of 
electing  our  president  for  the  next  four  years.  As  an 
American,  and  being  of  the  unpopular  complexion,  we 
are  rather  glad  to  see  this  sensitiveness.  The  most 
digusting  symptoms  sometimes  raise  hopes  for  the  re- 


how  many  of  the  entertainments  has  he  been  invited  ?  "  were  I 
capable  of  either  weakness  or  vanity  in  that  direction,  I  might 
allude  to  them,  as  does  the  learned  judge,  page  115,  but  would 
rather  refer  him  to  those  to  whom  he  appeals,  as  having  been. 
complimented  by,  and  simply  conclude  by  the  allusion  that  had 
he  himself  been  at  all  the  entertainments,  he  could  not  have 
failed  to  see  Dr.  Delany  at  many.  The  uncalled-for  allusion  to 
the  reception  given  by  his  royal  highness  has  been  previously 
replied  to. 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  123 

covciy  of  the  patient,  and  it  may  be  so  in  this  case.  The 
standing  offence  of  the  venerable  and  learned  Lord 
Brougham  was,  that  he  ventured  to  call  the  attention 
of  Mr.  Dallas,  the  American  minister  plenipotentiary, 
to  the  fact  that  a  l  negro '  was  an  acting  member  of  the 
meeting  of  the  International  Statistical  Congress. 
This  was  the  offence.  It  struck  home  at  once.  Mr. 
Dallas  felt  it.  It  choked  him  speechless.  He  could 
say  nothing.  The  hit  was  palpable.  It  was  like  calling 
the  attention  of  a  man  vain  of  his  personal  beauty  to 
his  ugly  nose,  or  to  any  other  deformity.  Delany,  de- 
termined that  the  nail  should  hold  fast,  rose  with  all 
his  blackness,  right  up,  as  quick  and  as  graceful  as  an 
African  lion,  and  received  the  curious  gaze  of  the  sci- 
entific world.  The  picture  was  complete.  Sermons 
in  stones  are  nothing  to  this. 

"  Never  was  there  a  more  telling  rebuke  administered 
to  the  pride,  prejudice,  and  hypocrisy  of  a  nation.  It 
was  saying,  '  Mr.  Dallas,  we  make  members  of  the  In- 
ternational Statistical  Congress  out  of  the  sort  of  men 
you  make  merchandise  of  in  America.  Delany  in 
Washington  is  a  thing ;  Delany  in  London  is  a  man. 
You  despise  and  degrade  him  as  a  beast  ;  we  esteem 
and  honor  him  as  a  gentleman.  Truth  is  of  no  color, 
Mr.  Dallas,  and  to  the  eye  of  science,  a  man  is  not  a 
man  because  of  his  color,  but  because  he  is  a  man,  and 
nothing  else.'  To  our  thinking,  there  was  no  truth 
more  important  and  significant  brought  before  the  Sta- 
tistical Congress.  Delany's  presence  in  that  meeting 
was,  however,  more  than  a  rebuke  to  American  preju- 
dice. It  was  an  answer  to  a  thousand  humiliating 
inquiries  respecting  the  character  and  qualifications  of 


124  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

the  colored  race.  Lord  Brougham,  in  calling  attention 
to  him,  performed  a  most  noble  act,  worthy  of  his  life- 
long advocacy  of  the  claims  of  our  hated  and  slandered 
people.  There  was,  doubtless,  something  of  his  sarcas- 
tic temper  shown  in  the  manner  of  his  announcement 
of  Delany ;  but  we  doubt  not  there  was  the  same  gen- 
uine philanthropic  motive  at  the  bottom  of  his  action, 
which  has  distinguished  him  through  life.  A  man  cov- 
ered with  honor,  associated  with  the  history  of  his 
country  for  more  than  a  half  century,  conspicuous  in 
many  of  the  mightiest  transactions  of  the  greatest  na- 
tion of  modern  times,  between  eighty  and  ninety  years 
old,  is  not  the  man  to  indulge  a  low  propensity  to  in- 
sult. He  had  a  better  motive  than  the  humiliation  of 
Dallas.  The  cause  of  an  outraged  and  much  despised 
race  came  up  before  him,  and  he  was  not  deterred  from 
serving  it,  though  it  should  give  offence. 

"But  why  should  Americans  regard  the  calling  atten- 
tion to  their  characteristic  prejudice  against  the  colored 
race  as  an  insult  ?  Why  do  they  go  into  a  rage  when 
the  subject  is  brought  up  in  England  ?  The  black  man 
is  no  blacker  in  England  than  in  America.  They  are 
not  strangers  to  the  negro  here ;  why  should  they  make 
strange  of  him  there  ?  They  meet  him  on  every  corner 
here ;  he  is  in  their  cornfields,  on  their  plantations,  in 
their  houses ;  he  waits  on  their  tables,  rides  in  their 
carriages,  and  accompanies  them  in  a  thousand  other 
relations,  some  of  them  very  intimate.  To  point  out  a 
negro  here  is  no  offence  to  anybody.  Indeed,  we  often 
offer  large  rewards  to  any  who  will  point  them  out. 
We  are  so  in  love  with  them  that  we  will  hunt  them  ; 
and  of  all  men,  our  southern  brethren  are  most 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  125 

miserable  when  deprived  of  their  negro  associates. 
Why,  then,  should  we  be  offended  by  being  asked  to 
look  at  a  negro  in  London?  We  look  at  him  in  New 
York,  and  Mr.  Dallas  has  often  been  called  to  look  at 
the  negro  in  Philadelphia. 

"The  answer  to  these  questions  may  be  this:  In 
America  the  white  man  sees  the  negro  in  that  condi- 
tion to  which  the  white  man's  prejudice  and  injustice 
assign  him.  He  sees  him  a  proscribed  man,  the  vic- 
tim of  insult  and  social  degradation.  In  that  condi- 
tion he  has  nothing  against  him.  It  is  only  when  the 
negro  is  seen  without  these  limitations  that  his  pres- 
ence raises  the  wrath  of  your  genuine  American  Chris- 
tian. When  poor,  ignorant,  hopeless,  and  thoughtless, 
he  is  rather  an  amusement  to  his  white  fellow-citizens; 
but  when  he  bears  himself  like  a  man,  conscious  of  the 
godlike  characteristics  of  manhood,  determined  to 
maintain  in  himself  the  dignity  of  his  species,  he  be- 
comes an  insufferable  offence.  This  explains  Mr.  Dal- 
las, and  explains  the  American  people.  It  explains  also 
the  negroes  themselves.  It  is  often  asked  why  the  ne- 
groes do  not  rise  above  the  generally  low  vocations  in 
which  they  are  found  ?  Why  do  they  consent  to  spend 
their  lives  in  menial  occupations  ?  The  answer  is,  that 
it  is  only  here  that  they  are  not  opposed  by  the  fierce 
and  bitter  prejudice  which  pierces  them  to  the  quick, 
the  moment  they  attempt  anything  higher  than  is  con- 
sidered their  pla^e  in  American  society.  Americans 
thus  degrade  us,  and  are  only  pleased  with  us  when  so 
degraded.  They  tempt  us  on  every  side  to  live  in  ig- 
norance, stupidity,  and  social  worthlessness,  by  the  neg- 
ative advantage  of  their  smiles ;  and  they  drive  us 


126  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

from  all  honorable  exertion  by  meeting  us  with  hatred 
and  scorn  the  instant  we  attempt  anything  else. 

"Had  Mr.  Delany  been  a  mean,  poor,  dirty,  ignorant 
negro,  incapable  of  taking  an  honorable  place  among 
gentlemen  and  scholars,  Mr.  Dallas  would  have  turned 
the  specimen  to  the  account  of  his  country.  But  the 
article  before  him  was  a  direct  contradiction  to  his 
country's  estimate  of  negro  manhood.  He  had  no  use 
for  him,  and  was  offended  when  his  attention  was 
called  to  him. 

"  There  was  still  another  bitter  ingredient  in  the  cup 
of  the  American  minister.  Men  can  indulge  in  very 
mean  things  when  among  mean  men,  and  do  so  with- 
out a  blush.  They  can  even  boast  of  their  meanness, 
glory  in  their  shame,  when  among  their  own  class,  but 
who,  when  among  better  men,  will  hang  their  heads 
like  sheep-stealing  dogs,  the  moment  their  true  charac- 
ter is  made  known.  To  hate  a  negro  in  America  is  an 
American  boast,  and  is  a  part  of  American  religion. 
Men  glory  in  it.  But  to  turn  up  your  nose  against  the 
negro  in  Europe  is  not  quite  so  easy  as  in  America,  es- 
pecially in  the  case  of  a  negro  morally  and  intellectu- 
ally the  equal  of  the  American  minister." 

Before  leaving  London,  Delany  read,  by  special  re- 
quest, a  paper  on  his  researches  in  Africa,  before  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  and  as  a  traveller  and  ex- 
plorer, received  the  privileges  extended  by  that  body, 
and  as  such  was  received  with  due  courtesy  in  many  of 
the  noted  places  dedicated  to  art  and  science,  both  in 
England  and  Scotland  ;  among  them,  the  Royal  College 
pf  Surgeons,  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  the  Hospitals,  Geolo- 


INTERNATIONAL    CONGRESS.  127 

gical  and  Anatomical  University,  Museums,  and  Li- 
braries. 

From  a  general  invitation  extended  to  the  members 
of  the  Congress,  and  a  special  one  to  himself,  by  the 
Right  Hon.  Lord  Brougham  and  Vaux,  ex-lord  high 
chancellor  of  England,  he  received  his  membership, 
and  attended  the  Congress  of  the  National  Association 
for  the  Promotion  of  Social  Science  at  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land, the  September  following.  Here  a  distinguished 
recognition  of  his  worth  awaited  him.  While  at  this 
Congress  lie  elicited  expressions  of  a  most  compliment- 
ary character  from  Lord  Brougham,  who  presided  here 
with  the  usual  dignity  ascribed  to  him  at  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  in  the  absence  of  his  royal  highness. 

The  following  is  extracted  from  the  Report  of  the 
First  Section  on  Judicial  Statistics,  by  the  president 
(Lord  Brougham)  and  Dr.  Asher:  — 

"I  think  I  am  authorized,  not  only  on  the  part  of  the 
council  of  the  society,  but  on  the  part  of  the  authori- 
ties in  Scotland,  strongly  to  recommend  and  to  invite 
all  persons  to  attend  that  Congress.  The  authorities 
take  the  greatest  interest  in  it,  both  at  Edinburgh  and 
at  Glasgow.  The  magistrates  of  both  countries,  and 
the  judges,  take  the  greatest  interest  in  the  Congress; 
and  I  hope  they  will  not  be  disappointed  in  having  the 
attendance  of  many  foreign  gentlemen  from  different 
parts  of  the  continent ;  and  I  also  hope  that  our  friend 
Dr.  Delany  will  attend  upon  that  occasion,  for  he  will 
then  be  in  the  country  which  first  laid  down  the  maxim 
and  the  principle  of  law:  That  the  moment  a  slave 
(which  Dr.  Delany  is  not,  but  which  his  ancestors 
were)  touches  British  ground,  his  fetters  fall  off.  That 


128  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

was  said  when  that  decision,  which  does  immortal  hon- 
or to  the  Scottish  courts,  was  pronounced.  It  was  a 
remark  made  in  one  of  the  arguments  — '  Quamvis  ille 
niger,  quamvis  ne  candidus  esses?  That  remark  was 
made  by  a  very  celebrated  judge,  the  son  of  a  very 
great  mathematician,  one  of  the  greatest  mathematicians 
that  ever  appeared  in  this  country,  the  son  of  the  cele- 
brated McLaurin.  I  hope  Dr.  Delany  is.  here.  In  the 
sanitary  section,  as  my  noble  friend  Lord  Shaftesbury 
informed  me  before  he  left  the  room,  he  was  of  very 
great  use,  indeed,  in  the  information  which  he  conveyed 
to  them,  and  that  he  made  a  most  able  speech,  as  Sir 
Roderick  Murchison  informs  me,  at  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  which  he  lately  attended.  I  hope 
therefore,  that  we  shall  have  the  advantage  of  his  at- 
tendance upon  that  occasion." 

After  the  close  of  the  Congress,  he  was  invited  to 
lecture  on  the  subject  of  his  explorations,  in  many  parts 
of  England  and  Scotland,  meeting  everywhere  with 
marked  success,  for  nearly  seven  months.  At  these 
lectures  an  appreciative  audience  greeted  him:  among 
them  many  of  the  elite  of  the  kingdom  convened,  as 
was  manifested  at  his  reception  lecture  at  Brighton,  on 
the  seaside,  during  the  watering  season,  given  in  the 
pavilion  of  the  Marine  Palace  of  William  IV. 

At  the  conclusion  of  these,  he  prepared  to  return  to 
Africa,  having  entered  into  obligations  in  England  and 
Scotland,  especially  the  latter  place,  —  which  in  good 
faith  are  yet  to  be  fulfilled,  —  when  the  secession  of 
South  Carolina  reached  Great  Britain. 

With  almost  prophetic  vision  he  saw  the  great  work 
apportioned  for  his  race  in  the  impending  struggle. 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  129 

Therefore  he  turned  his  thoughts  homeward  to  prepare 
himself  for  his  portion  of  it. 

Hastening  home  from  a  land  where  he  was  every- 
where the  recipient  of  distinguished  courtesy,  in  order  to 
cast  his  lot  with  his  people  for  good  or  evil  fortune,  he 
reached  Canada  forty-five  days  before  the  attack  on 
Fort  Sumter. 

There  he  remained  watching  the  progress  of  the  re- 
bellion, which,  from  the  first,  he  foresaw,  and  thus  ex- 
pressed himself,  that  it  would  be  long  and  desperate  in 
its  course. 

The  following  is  the  speech  of  Dr.  Delany,  at  the 
close  of  the  International  Congress:  — 

"I  should  be  insensible,  indeed,  if  I  should  permit 
this  Congress  to  adjourn  without  expressing  my  grati- 
tude for  the  cordial  manner  in  which  I  have  been  re- 
ceived, from  the  time  when  I  landed  in  this  kingdom 
to  the  present  moment,  and  in  particular  to  the  Earl 
of  Shaftesbury,  the  president  of  the  section  to  which  I 
belong,  as  well  as  to  every  individual  gentleman  of  that 
section,  it  matters  not  from  what  part  of  the  world  he 
came.  I  say,  my  lord,  if  I  did  permit  this  Congress  to 
adjourn  without  expressing  my  gratitude,  I  should  be 
an  ingrate  indeed.  I  am  not  foolish  enough  to  suppose 
that  it  was  from  any  individual  merit  of  mine,  but  it 
was  that  outburst  of  expression  of  sympathy  for  my 
race  (African),  whom  I  represent,  and  who  have  gone 
the  road  of  that  singular  providence  of  degeneration, 
that  all  other  races  in  some  time  of  the  world's  history 
have  gone,  but  from  which,  thank  God,  they  are  now 
fast  being  regenerated.  I  again  tender  my  most  sin- 
cere thanks  and  heartfelt  gratitude  to  those  distin- 
9 


130  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

guished  gentlemen  with  whom  I  have  been  privileged 
to  associate,  and  by  whom  I  have  been  received  on 
terms  of  the  most  perfect  equality."  (Great  applause.) 

We  subjoin  to  this  an  extract  from  the  Globe,  pub- 
lished in  Toronto,  Canada,  by  which  the  attention  of 
the  House  of  Lords  was  called  to  him :  — 

"In  the  course  of  his  remarks  in  asking  a  question  in 
the  House  of  Lords  for  the  production  of  certain  pa- 
pers relating  to  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade,  Lord 
Brougham  said  that  his  noble  friend  near  him  (Lord 
Shaftesbury)  could  bear  testimony  to  the  useful  assist- 
ance given  to  the  department  of  the  Statistical  Con- 
gress, over  which  he  presided,  by  Dr.  Delany,  the  negro 
member  of  the  Congress.  (Lord  Shaftesbury,  <  Certain- 
ly.') He  had  shown  great  talent  in  his  addresses  to  the 
section.  He  had  also  appeared  at  the  general  meeting 
over  which  he  (Lord  Brougham),  in  the  prince  con- 
sort's absence,  presided." 

The  following  ex.tract  is  from  page  39  of  the  Trans- 
actions National  Asso.  Prom.  S.  Science :  — 

"At  our  first  meeting  in  1857,  the  subject  of  Judicial 
Statistics  was  brought  under  consideration,  in  one  of 
the  able  and  useful  papers  read  by  Mr.  L.  Levi,  and 
in  consequence  of  the  discussion  which  took  place, 
very  considerable  improvements  were  introduced  into 
that  department  of  the  treasury,  so  that,  at  our  last 
Congress,  hopes  were  entertained  of  such  complete  and 
regular  information  being  afforded,  as  the  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  Minister  of  Justice  presents  in  France.  A 
most  important  step  has  since  been  made  in  that  di- 
rection. The  meeting  of  the  International  Statistical 
Congress  has  been  held  under  the  presidency  of  the 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  131 

prince  consort,  whose  opening  address,  marked  by  the 
sound  sense,  the  accurate  information,  and  the  general 
ability  which  distinguish  all  his  royal  highness'a  exer- 
tions, is  in  the  hands  of  all  our  members.  Having  been 
requested  to  superintend  the  judicial  department,  and 
having  afterwards,  in  his  royal  highness's  absence,  pre- 
sided at  the  general  meeting,  it  was  a  great  satisfaction 
to  find  the  unanimous  adoption  of  the  plan  which  it 
became  my  duty  to  report,  embodying  the  resolutions 
in  full  detail  upon  the  whole  subject;  and  there  was  a 
strong  recommendation  unanimously  passed,  urging  the 
government  to  appoint  a  permanent  statistical  commis- 
sion. The  report  has  been  presented  to  the  House 
of  Lords  (where,  indeed,  I  had  several  years  before 
brought  forward  the  resolutions  which  formed  its 
groundwork  this  year),  and  is  now  among  the  printed 
papers  of  the  session.  There  were  naturally  present  at 
this  International  Congress  eminent  men  from  various 
parts  of  the  Continent ;  and  in  announcing  the  assem- 
bly of  the  present  meeting,  I  took  the  liberty  of  invit- 
ing those  distinguished  foreigners,  with  whose  presence 
I  trust  we  are  now  honored.  Among  others  was  a 
negro  gentleman  of  great  respectability  and  talents,  Dr. 
Delany,  who  had  attended  different  departments,  and 
in  his  able  addresses  has  communicated  useful  informa- 
tion and  suggestions.  When  inviting  him  to  this 
Congress,  I  informed  him  that  he  would  have  the  sat- 
isfaction of  visiting  the  country  which  first  declared  a 
slave  free  the  instant  he  touches  British  ground.  Dr. 
Delany's  forefathers  were  African  slaves;  he  is  himself 
a  native  of  Canada.*  It  is  truly  painful  to  reflect  that, 

*  His    lordship  is  in  error  in  regard  to  the  birthplace,  as  else- 
where shown. 


132  LIFE  or  MA  JOE,  M.  R.  DELANY. 

although  his  family  have  been  free  for  generations,  his 
origin  being  traced  to  one  whom  the  crimes  of  white 
men  and  Christians  had  enslaved,  he  would  be,  in  the 
land  of  trans-Atlantic  liberty,  incapable  of  enjoying  any 
civil  rights  whatever,  and  would  be  treated  in  all  re- 
spects as  an  alien,  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  being  inex- 
orably visited,  not  upon  their  children,  but  upon  the 
children  of  their  victims,  to  all  generations,  —  children 
whose  only  offence  is  the  sufferings  of  their  parents, 
whose  wrongs  they  inherit  with  their  hue." 

"NOTE.  —  It  was  stated  to  Dr.  Delany  that  he 
would  be  in  the  country  which  first  pronounced  the 
great  decree  of  a  slave's  fetters  falling  off  the  moment 
he  touched  British  ground.  This  was  first  decided  by 
the  courts  of  Scotland,  in  the  case  of  Knight,  a  negro, 
1778.  In  Somerset's  case,  1772,  the  courts  of  England 
had  not  laid  down  the  rule  generally,  but  only  that  a 
negro  could  not  be  carried  out  of  the  country  by  his 
master.  In  the  Scotch  case,  the  printed  argument  was 
prepared  by  Mr.  McLaurin  (afterwards  Lord  Cleghorn, 
son  of  the  celebrated  mathematician),  and  the  appro- 
priate motto  which  he  prefixed  to  his  paper  was  :  — 

"  '  QUAMVIS  ILLE  NIGER,  QUAMVIS  TU  CANDIDUS  ES- 
SES.'" Ibid.  p.  53. 

A  most  remarkable  feature  noticed  in  the  position  of 
the  learned  lord,  in  relation  to  Major  Delany,  was  the 
occasion  which  he  took  to  proclaim  to  him  —  a  black 
man,  and  for  the  first  time  before  such  a  distinguished 
audience  —  that  important  historic  fact  in  legal  juris- 
prudence, as  found  in  note  above,  that  it  was  in 
Scotland  in  1722,  the  great  declaration  was  made  by 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS.  133 

Lord  Cleghorn,  that  the  moment  a  slave  touched  British 
soil,  he  stood  a  freeman  "  by  the  irresistible  genius  of 
universal  emancipation." 

It  is  also  worthy  of  record  that  so  many  long  years 
should  elapse,  and  he  be  made  the  first  to  receive  the 
great  decision  from  history  correctly  given  by  no  less 
personage  than  the  ex-high  lord  chancellor  of  Eng- 
land. 


134  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
RETURN  TO  AMERICA. 

AS  Delany  was  desirous  of  contributing  his  aid  to 
the  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  in  various  ways  he 
offered  to  make  his  services  acceptable,  which  being  of 
no  avail,  as  northern  ingenuity  had  not  yet  discovered 
the  latent  powers  of  black  muscles,  he  was  forced  to 
remain  an  unwilling  looker-on  while  others  bore  the 
part  he  believed  assigned  to  his  race. 

While  thus  unemployed,  he  accepted  the  advice  of 
gentlemen  of  influence  and  standing,  among  whom  were 
the  Hon.  F.  S.  Gregory  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Riddell,  of 
Jersey  City,  Joseph  B.  Collins  and  Isaac  Smith,  Esqs., 
of  New  York,  to  make  a  tour  through  the  country, 
and  lecture  on  Africa  and  his  researches  there. 

These  lectures,  beginning  after  the  publication  of  his 
report,  were  exceedingly  popular.  They  were  free 
courses,  held  generally  in  the  most  prominent  churches 
of  various  denominations,  under  the  auspices  of  their 
respective  pastors ;  his  book  being  sold  to  the  audience 
at  the  conclusion.  These  being  attended  by  the  most 
refined  and  influential  of  society,  he  took  occasion  always 
to  bring  forward  the  claims  of  his  race  to  the  war,  en- 
deavoring to  create  a  popular  feeling  in  favor  of  arm- 
ing the  blacks.  For  as  the  huge  monster  of  rebellion 


RETURN  TO  AMERICA.  135 

began  assuming  its  gigantic  proportions  with  all  its 
hideous  deformities,  all  were  admitting  the  absurdity 
of  its  being  "  put  down  in  a  few  months."  While  many 
then  recognized  that  the  blast  from  Sumter's  embat- 
tlement  was  but  a  reverberation  of  that  which  rung  out 
so  clearly  upon  the  midnight  air,  a  few  short  years  back, 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  they  scarcely  saw  the  blacks'  identi- 
ty with  the  issue. 

To  these  lectures  there  was  no  impediment  offered 
'by  his  political  enemies,  on  the  score  of  color,  to  pre- 
vent his  being  heard,  but  on  one  occasion  ;  and  the 
cause  assigned  being  so  novel  and  ill-arranged  we  can- 
not help  referring  to  the  circumstance. 

Being  in  Detroit,  he  was  solicited  by  that  distin- 
guished and  venerable  divine,  Dr.  Duffield,  author  of 
"  The  Christian  Regeneration,"  who  offered  him  his 
church,  on  the  following  Sabbath,  to  deliver  a  lecture  on 
any  moral  subject  he  should  choose,  before  his  congrega- 
tion. The  doctor  accepted  the  invitation ;  but  at  the  pre- 
cise moment  of  leaving  for  the  church,  a  gentleman  called 
upon  him,  abruptly  remarking,  "  It  was  not  known 
until  this  moment  that  you  are  the  person  who  im- 
proved the  opportunity  to  insult  the  American  minister 
at  the  Court  of  St.  James.  You  need  not  come ;  we 
will  not  hear  you  !  "  This  was  of  course  instantly  de- 
nied, with  an  attempted  explanation ;  but  his  accuser,  for 
some  reason,  persisting  in  the  charge,  and  indignantly 
refusing  to  hear  an  explanation,  abruptly  withdrew. 
Soon  after  a  committee  of  gentlemen  called,  stating  that 
the  church  was  crowded,  determined  to  hear  him  and 
give  him  an  opportunity  to  explain  the  impolitic  charge 
against  him.  Thanking  them,  he  peremptorily  de- 


136  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

clined,  lest  he  should  compromise  the  excellent  pastor 
by  the  accusation  most  certain  to  be  made,  that  "  the 
abolitionists  of  the  church  had  forced  a  negro  into* it, 
though  protested  against  by  the  other  portion  of  the 
vQongrcgation."  Again,  that  Sabbath  being  the  first 
after  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  he  insisted  to  his 
friends,  knowing  the  great  issue  at  stake,  that  it  was  no 
time  to  divide  the  feelings  of  the  people.  The  point 
was  conceded  by  his  friends,  and  they  yielded,  when 
one  of  them,  a  wealthy  manufacturer,  rented  the  "Mur- 
rill  Hall "  at  his  own  expense,  where,  on  the  first  even- 
ing, he  made  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  alleged 
offence,  and  lectured  for  four  consecutive  evenings. 

A  few  days  after  this,  while  seated  in  the  cars,  dashing 
along  the  Great  Western  Railway  in  Canada,  listening 
to  a  discussion  on  the  probabilities  of  the  war  and  its 
result,  a  gentleman  stepped  up,  addressing  him  by 
name,  stated  that  he  resided  at  Detroit,  and  was  there 
at  the  time  the  objection  was  raised  against  having  him 
lecture  at  the  church,  and,  "  although  a  Democrat,  he 
did  not  sympathize  with  the  issue  made  against  him, 
and  that  it  was  simple  justice  due  to  him  to  state  that 

the  author  of  the  charge  was  Colonel ,  recent  charge 

d'affaires  at  the  Court  of  R ,  who  made  the  state- 
ment as  being  true,  he  having  been  present  at  the  In- 
ternational Congress  at  the  time,  and  knew  the  attack 
on  the  American  minister  to  have  been  of  the  grossest 
character  and  altogether  unnecessary."  This,  the 
major  says,  was  the  first  and  only  information  he  ever 
had  of  the  conversion  of  that  incident  into  an  attack 
by  him  upon  the  Ameican  minister. 

He  continued  his  course  of  lectures,  and  heard  no 


RETURN  TO  AMERICA.  137 

more  such  absurd  charges,  persons  being  perhaps  too 
absorbed  in  the  fearful  struggle,  when  a  nation  should 
be  born  anew,  and  old  prejudices  and  hatred  forever 
buried,  to  repeat  the  slander. 

At  this  time,  too,  there  were  endless  speculations 
concerning  the  course  and  determined  policy  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  who,  with  few  exceptions,  was  being  regarded 
with  suspicion  by  the  friends  of  the  blacks  as  well  as 
by  the  blacks  themselves,  based  upon  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress (to  the  first  we  allude,  for  the  second  lives  for- 
ever), together  with  the  Central  American  Emigra- 
tion scheme,  which  we  now  recognize  as  a  most  suc- 
cessful coup,  d'etat  of  the  president.  It  set  the 
opinion  at  rest  forever  that  the  colored  people  could  be 
induced  to  emigrate  from  their  home,  and  this  their 
country,  en  masse. 

Speculations  were  endless  as  to  the  tendency  of  the 
president's  course.  As  it  is  not  considered  an  assump- 
tion for  a  man  of  limited  means  to  have  an  opinion  of 
his  own,  Dr.  Delany  had  and  claimed  the  right,  af- 
ter much  deliberation,  to  express  his  views  concerning 
the  policy  of  the  president.  Many  of  his  friends  differed 
widely  from  him  ;  he  held  his  own  convictions  with  his 
usual  tenacity,  and  endeavored  to  convince  them.  He 
thought  he  could  discern,  in  the  course  then  being 
pursued  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  a  logical  conclusion,  and  which, 
if  not  at  first  intended,  would  ultimately  result  in  ac- 
complishing the  desires  of  the  friends  of  freedom  — 
emancipation  to  the  slaves  of  the  South,  and  the  f  reed- 
men's  rights  as  an  inevitable  consequence. 

Said  he  on  one  occasion,  "I  thought  I  could  see 
differently  from  my  friends,  those  truly  talented  men, 


138         LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

and  unswerving  friends  of  their  race.  Not  that  I 
know  more  than  they,  for  I  may  not  know  as  much. 
But  we,  like  white  men,  have  our  faculties  and  propen- 
sities, and  are  likely  to  develop  them  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  our  course.  In  this  I  think  it  may  not  be  re- 
garded as  an  unwarranted  assumption  or  egotism  to 
say  that  in  national  affairs  and  in  fundamental  princi- 
ciples  of  government,  I  claim  to  be  at  least  not  far 
rearward  of  my  friends  whose  counsels  I  sought.  To 
inquire  into  the  origin  of  races  and  governments,  and 
the  rise  and  fall  of  nations,  is  with  me  a  propensity  I 
cannot  resist.  This  is  not  said  for  invidious  comparison 
with  my  friends,  because  as  an  orator  (which  I  am  not), 
anti-slavery  historian,  and  portrayer  of  black  men's 
wrongs,  I  would  sink  into  insignificance  in  comparison 
with  Frederick  Douglass,  and  would  render  myself 
ridiculous  were  I  capable  of  assuming  to  be  equally 
learned  with  Dr.  James  McCune  Smith.  While  I  con- 
sidered him  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  most  scientific 
and  learned  colored  man,  as  a  scholar,  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent,  yet  neither  scholarship  and  splendid 
talents  among  black  men  ceased  to  exist  with  Dr. 
McCune  Smith,  nor  will  end  with  the  name  of  the  re- 
nowned Douglass.  They  are  more  numerous,  com- 
paratively, than  their  opportunities  warrant."  lie 
sought  his  friends,  to  devise  with  them  the  means  best 
•  adapted  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  hour.  The  sub- 
ject present  in  his  mind  was  that  of  the  army.  He 
argued  strongly,  always  in  favor  of  separate  organiza- 
tion, as  the  only  means  to  give  character  to  the  colored 
people,  and  promote  their  pride  of  race,  thus  crediting 
them  in  history  with  deeds  of  their  own.  In  this 


RETURN  TO  AMERICA.  139 

he  was  afterwards  supported  by  the  late  Dr.  McCune 
Smith,  and  the  lamented  Thomas  Hamilton  of  the 
Anglo- African. 

On  one  occasion  he  sought  Mr.  Frederick  Douglass 
at  his  home  at  Rochester,  who  was  then  restlessly  im- 
patient, as  were  a  host  of  others,  at  the  slow,  undefined 
steps  of  the  president.  It  is  not  for  us  to  question 
whether  or  not  those  sad,  patient  eyes,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  struggle,  discerned,  amid  the  mists  and 
shadows  of  the  future,  the  symbol  of  Union  synony- 
mous with  emancipation,  and,  rejoicing,  quietly  awaited 
the  development  of  events,  or  if  it  was  indeed  a  "mili- 
tary necessity"  which  occasioned  its  promulgation. 
Since  the  many  disclosures  of  party  treachery  and  cor- 
ruption in  high  places,  the  pureness  of  action  which 
marked  his  career  forms  a  striking  contrast,  on  which 
the  loyal  heart  contemplates  with  a  pride  mingled 
with  tenderness.  That  a  signal  providence  directed 
his  course,  beset  as  he  was  by  false  counsellors  and 
foes,  who  hesitated  at  no  measures  which  subserved 
their  purposes,  it  is  evident.  The  fiery  trials  and  per- 
plexities through  which  he  passed  but  purified  him  for 
the  halo  of  martyrdom  which  ultimately  encircled  his 
furrowed  brow,  enshrining  him  forever  in  the  nation's 
innermost  heart. 

Before  his  departure  from  Rochester  he  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  hearing  Mr.  Douglass  express  himself  more 
favorably  editorially  in  his  able  journal,  and  this  before 
it  went  to  press.  Said  he,  "  It  was  to  this  change  of 
opinion  in  my  great-hearted  friend  that  we  date  the 
correspondence  with  the  Hon.  Montgomery  Blair,  asjs- 
ing  the  aid  of  his  great  influence  in  behalf  of  the  pres- 


140  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

ident  in  putting  down  the  rebellion,  and  which  result- 
ed in  a  special  o'fficial  request  for  Mr.  Douglass  to  visit 
Washington,  and  his  subsequent  conference  with  the 
president  and  cabinet,  including  the  able  secretary 
of  war." 

An  incident  is  related  in  connection  with  his  many 
arguments  in  behalf  of  the  government,  believing  its 
policy  ultimately  tended  to  emancipation.  In  conver- 
sation once  on  this  subject  with  some  of  his  friends, 
there  was  present  an  accomplished  European  lady, 
who  professed  no  respect  for  the  Americanism  of  that 
date,  and  was  by  no  means  favorably  impressed  with 
President  Lincoln's  course.  He  sought  to  disarm  her 
of  her  prejudices  against  the  administration,  as  his  faith 
was  in  the  power  behind  the  throne,  which  was  greater 
than  the  throne  itself.  She  suddenly  turned  from  his 
theories,  telling  him  he  did  not  comprehend  the  great 
questions  involved  in  the  issue  of  the  war.  Before  he 
could  recover  from  this  abrupt  stroke,  Mr.  Douglass 
came  to  his  aid,  which  timely  relief  saved  him  from  a 
most  terrible  rout.  Said  Mr.  Douglass,  "  Madam,  you 
do  not  know  the  gentleman  with  whom  you  are  con- 
versing ;  if  there  be  one  man  among  us  to  whose  opin- 
ion I  would  yield  on  the  subject  of  government  gen- 
erally, that  man  is  the  gentleman  now  before  you." 


CORPS  D'AFRIQUE.  141 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

CORPS  D'AFRIQUE. 

AS  early  as  October,  1861,  Dr.  Delany,  when  en 
route  to  Chicago,  stopped  at  Adrian,  Michigan, 
for  the  purpose  of  seeing  President  Mnhan,  of  the 
Michigan  College.  The  subject  of  the  war,  which  was 
then  being  earnestly  waged,  instantly  became  the  theme 
of  conversation,  and  the  role  of  the  colored  American 
as  an  actor  on  its  board  was  the  principal  feature 
therein.  How  and  what  to  do  to  obtain  admission  to 
the  service,  was  the  question  to  which  Dr.  Delany 
demanded  a  solution.  He  stated  that  it  had  become 
inseparable  with  his  daily  existence,  almost  absorbing 
everything  else,  and  nothing  would  content  him  but 
entering  the  service ;  he  cared  not  how,  provided  his 
admission  recognized  the  rights  of  his  race  to  do  so. 

To  this  President  Mahan  assented,  and  expressed 
himself  as  willing  to  sacrifice  his  high  social  position 
and  literary  worth  for  the  cause  of  his  country  and  hu- 
manity. He  further  expressed  himself  as  being  willing 
and  ready  to  enter  the'  service  on  conditions  that  should 
be  specified,  he  having  received  a  military  education  in 
his  youth. 

He  proposed  to  apply  to  President  Lincoln  for  a  major 
general's  commission,  with  authority  to  raise  a  division 


142  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

of  blacks.  Dr.  Delany  at  once  proposed  that  the  ap- 
plication be  made  specially  for  a  corps  d'Afrique  for 
signal  service  from  the  white  division  of  the  army. 
This  was  prior  to  the  application  of  Dr.  Gloucester  to 
Mr.  Lincoln  for  such  an  organization  for  Major  General 
Fremont,  or  the  order  to  General  N".  P.  Banks. 

His  main  reason  in  urging  the  corps  d'Afrique  was, 
he  claimed,  with  his  usual  pride  of  race,  that  the  origin 
and  dress  of  the  Zouaves  d'Afrique  were  strictly 
African. 

To  President  Mahan,  on  that  occasion,  he  gave  the 
following  history  of  their  formation :  — 

"That  it  was  during  the  Algerine  war  waged  by  the 
Due  d'Orleans,  eldest  son  of  Louis  Philippe,  against 
Abdel-Kader,  the  Arab,  the  Zouave  obtained  that  fame 
which  recommended  it  to  civilized  nations. 

"  The  French  had  their  three  grand  armies  of  ten 
thousand ;  the  struggle  had  been  long,  desperate,  and 
costly  to  the  French,  both  in  men  and  materials  of 
war,  and  the  campaign  began  to  wane,  till 

'  A  Moorish  king  went  up  and  down, 
Through  Granada's  royal  town,' 

and  the  services  of  the  African  warriors  were  tendered 
to  the  Due  d'Orleans  by  an  African  prince. 

"When,  in  a  terrible  charge,  the  duke,  receiving  a 
shot  through  the  thigh,  was  unhorsed,  and  fell  bleeding 
to  the  ground,  the  desperate  Arabs,  amid  the  wild 
shouts  of  their  leaders,  charged  on  their  steeds  with 
open  mouths  and  distended  nostrils,  their  javelins 
drawn  for  the  fatal  thrust,  those  faithful  black  Zouaves, 
eighteen  hundred,  mounted  upon  jet  stallions,  rushed 


CORPS  D'AFEIQUE.  143 

to  the  conflict,  in  turn  charging,  and  turned  the  front  of 
their  antagonists  with  double-edged  sabres,  cut  through 
the  ranks  of  the  shrieking  enemy,  covered  the  duke 
with  their  shields,  and  bore  him  away  in  triumph  from, 
the  field. 

"It  was  for  services  such  as  these  in  a  long  and 
bloody  struggle,  that  could  not  have  been  brought  to  a 
close  without  such  aid,  that  the  African  Zouaves,  who 
served  in  the  Algerine  war,  were  taken  as  veteran 
troops  with  the  French  to  Europe,  and  their  dress  and 
tactics  introduced  as  a  part  of  the  military  service  of 
the  French. 

""'  "It  was  observed  years  ago  by  persons  visiting  Hayti, 
without  their  comprehending  it  closely,  perhaps,  that 
the  soldiers  of  that  island  had  peculiar  tactics,  —  'throw- 
ing themselves  upon  the  earth,'  and,  as  one  writer 
observed,  turning  upon  their  backs,  then  upon  their 
sides,  so  swiftly  that  it  was  hard  to  determine  what 
they  were,  all  the  time  keeping  up  a  continual  4  load 
and  fire.'  This  was,  doubtless,  nothing  but  the  orig- 
inal Zouave  tactics  introduced  long  years  ago  by  native 
Africans  among  these  people." 

Before  leaving,  President  Mahan  proposed  to  make 
the  application,  as  previously  agreed  upon  between 
them,  and,  if  successful,  to  give  Dr.  Delany  an  appoint- 
ment compatible  with  his  desires.  The  latter  proposed 
to  avoid  encroaching  on  army  regulations  as  then  be- 
ing the  policy;  that  he  should  receive  the  position  of 
private  medical  adviser  and  confidential  bearer  of  de- 
spatches, which  would  not  interfere  with  any  official 
position  of  army  ofiicers,  and  at  the  same  time  giving 
him  the  opportunity  of  being  near  the  general's  person, 


144  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

to  obtain  the  military  experience  he  desired,  which  he 
knew  would  render  him  of  service  in  the  event  of  the 
government  accepting  the  aid  of  the  colored  troops,  by 
admitting  those  fitted  to  proper  positions. 

With  this  understanding  he  left  President  Mahan, 
confident,  if  it  was  possible  for  his  desires  to  be  accom- 
plished, that  all  endeavors  would  be  used.  Instead  of 
hearing  of  the  success  of  his  plans,  he  soon  saw  them 
fade  before  him,  like  a  dream  before  awakened  realities, 
by  seeing  the  order  published  giving  authority  to  Major 
General  N.  P.  Banks  to  raise  a  corps  d'Afrique  imme- 
diately for  the  service. 

But  this  did  not  prevent  him  from  looking  to  a 
brighter  prospect  for  his  race. 

"  As  this  placed  us  fairly  in  the  war,"  he  said,  "  thank- 
ing God,  I  became  satisfied,  and  took  courage." 

Thus,  while  it  proved  an  individual  failure  for  his 
plans,  as  it  was  a  gain  to  his  race,  it  was  as  to  him- 
self, and  his  unselfish  nature  received  fresh  stimulant 
to  labor  to  promote  further  recognition  for  them. 


A  STEP  TOWARDS  THE  SERVICE.  145 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  STEP  TOWARDS  THE  SERVICE. 

WHILE  completing  his  last  lectures  of  the  course 
in  Chicago,  the  order  was  granted  by  the  depart- 
ment to  raise  the  famous  Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts  Vol- 
unteers, whose  fame  is  enhanced  by  the  gorious  burial  of 
its  brave  young  commander  with  his  dusky  guards,  and 
the  memories  of  Forts  Wagner  and  Olustee. 

For  this  regiment  he  received  the  appointment  of 
acting  assistant  agent,  under  Charles  L.  Remond  and 
Charles  H.  Langston,  Esq.,  for  recruiting,  and  acting 
examining  surgeon  for  the  post  of  Chicago,  from 
Major  George  L.  Stearns,  chairman  of  the  military 
committee,  being  authorized  by  Governor  John  A.  An- 
drew, of  Massachusetts. 

His  eldest  son,  then  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  at 
school  in  Canada,  wrote  to  him  for  permission  to  join 
that  regiment.  In  granting  the  request,  it  drew  from 
him  a  reply  worthy  of  his  heart  and  head. 

After  the  regiment  was  filled,  he  applied  by  letter  to 
the  war  department  at  Washington  for  the  appoint- 
ment as  surgeon  to  the  blacks  in  the  army.  He  re- 
ceived the  usual  polite  reply,  that  "the  letter  was 
received  and  on  file  under  consideration."  Hearing 
nothing  of  his  application,  after  a  considerable  time  had 
10 


146  LIFE  OF  MA  JOB  M.  R.  DELANY, 

elapsed,  he  was  advised  by  his  friends  to  write  again 
by  way  of  a  reminder,  and  was  on  the  point  of  doing 
so,  when  the  news  flashed  over  the  wires  that  Dr. 
Augusta  of  Canada  had  been  appointed  as  surgeon  in 
the  army,  with  the  rank  of  major.  Neither  did  this 
second  defeat  dishearten  him,  for  it  was  a  realization 
partly  of  his  plans  of  seeing  a  black  of  representative 
rank  in  the  army.  He  then  concluded  to  abandon  the 
sending  of  a  second  application  to  the  department, 
fearing  to  embarrass  the- government  in  such  appoint- 
ment, and  by  this  retard  the  progress  of  the  cause  he 
was  endeavoring  to  advance. 

Meanwhile  Rhode  Island  had  been  ordered  to  raise 
the  heavy  artillery;  and  eighteen  hundred  black  men, 
afterwards  increased  to  twenty-five  hundred,  were  re- 
quired for  this  service.  Some  of  his  friends  had  pushed 
forward  his  claims  in  this  direction  to  the  authorities. 
He  was  visited  at  his  home  in  Canada  concerning  the 
recruiting,  and  made  agent  under  a  commissioned  cap- 
tain in  the  service  to  superintend  the  recruiting  of  this 
arm  of  the  service. 

Establishing  himself  at  Detroit,  Michigan,  removing 
thence  to  Chicago,  he  soon  found  himself  borne  smooth- 
ly along  on  the  wave  of  success .  His  efforts  were 
seconded  by  the  most  influential  colored  people  of  the 
place :  among  them  we  find  the  name  of  Mr.  John 
Jones,  the  wealthiest  colored  resident  of  the  state,  who 
entered  intimately  into  his  confidence,  bringing  all  his 
influence  to  bear  in  assisting  the  government  to  put 
down  the  rebellion. 

So  satisfactory  was  his-  course  in  the  West  to  the 
authorities  of  Rhode  Island,  that  the  captain  under 


A  STEP  TOWARDS  THE  SERVICE.  147 

whom  he  served  was  relieved,  and  he  then  placed  in 
entire  charge,  and  its  accompanying  responsibilities, 
without  the  military  commission,  however,  or  even 
rank  given  by  courtesy,  as  the  country  was  not  up  to 
that  at  the  time. 

Orders  at  this  time  were  sent  to  him  concerning  a 
change  about  to  be  made  in  relation  to  the  pay  and 
recruiting  of  the  men,  which,  while  it  would  have  re- 
sulted in  increasing  his  own  pay,  would  greatly  have  re- 
duced the  bounty  —  twenty-two  dollars  a  man.  To  this 
proposed  injustice  he  instantly  refused  to  lend  his  in- 
fluence. And  he  soon  received  a  telegram  to  the  effect 
that  he  was  relieved.  He  then  demanded  a  settlement 
for  his  past  services.  Not  being  answered,  he  sent  a 
messenger  to  Governor  Smith,  who  at  once  summoned 
him  to  Rhode  Island..  At  Providence  he  met  his  ex- 
cellency and  Major  Sanford,  TL  S.  mustering  officer, 
who,  together  with  the  governor,  the  past  difficulty 
being  satisfactorily  settled,  united  in  recommending  his 
appointment  to  the  military  authorities  of  Connecticut, 
that  state  having  at  the  time  a  quota  to  fill  of  five 
thousand.  An  official  of  that  state  was  telegraphed, 
who  contracted  with  him  to  superintend  the  recruiting. 
He  retained  his  former  quarters  at  Chicago,  but  was 
afterwards  compelled  to  remove  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in 
consequence  of  an  abrupt  interruption  on  the  part  of 
the  authorities  of  that  city  and  the  State  of  Illinois. 
He  complained  of  affairs  being  badly  conducted,  and 
after  a  most  unsatisfactory  official  yisit  to  New  Haven, 
occasioned  by  the  absence  of  Governor  Buckingham,  he 
resigned,  with  a  loss  of  about  three  thousand  dollars  to 
himself. 


148  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

He  immediately  went  west,  and  opened  an  indepen- 
dent recruiting  station,  witnessing,  he  says, "  with  unut- 
terable disgust,  the  hateful  mercenary  recruiting  trade 
of  selling  men  in  the  highest  market,  and  denounced 
them,  whether  black  or  white. 

The  legitimate  quotas  in  a  few  country  districts  of 
Western  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Ohio,  he  aided 
in  filling,  "  persistently  refusing,"  he  says,  "  the  offers 
made  for  men,  by  a  class  who  prowled  the  country  un- 
der various  names  and  pretended  military  titles,  with 
a  shudder  and  a  scout,  despising  the  man  who  would 
sell  his  brethren  for  a  price."  So  great  were  his  fears 
lest  imposition  or  intrigue  be  practised  on  the  men, 
and  his  promise  be  made  void,  that  he  invariably  ac- 
companied them  to  their  destination. 

The  most  interesting  epoch  in  his  recruiting  career 
was  when  he  was  called  upon,  by  the  military  committee 
of  one  of  the  districts  of  Western  Ohio,  to  contract  to 
fill  their  quota  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  un- 
der the  new.  act  of -Congress.  The  office  of  the  com- 
mittee was  at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  consented  to 
negotiate  for  them,  provided  that  he  was  commissioned 
a  state  officer  under  the  new  act  regulating  the  ap- 
pointment of  state  officers  in  recruiting.  The  commit- 
tee suggested  first  to  make  sure  of  the  choice  and  con- 
tract ;  then  they  would  have  whereon  to  base  an  ap- 
plication to  the  governor.  This  course  was  complied 
with,  and  the  application  then  made  to  the  governor, 
who  expressed  himself  to  the  effect  that  he  regarded 
the  proposal  too  novel  to  find  favor  at  Washington,  as 
a  black  man  could  never  have  been  designed  or  intend- 
ed in  the  new  recruiting  order.  He  further  intimated 


A  STEP  TOWARDS  THE  SERVICE.  149 

that  the  authorities  at  Washington  would  be  consulted 
as  to  whether  or  not  such  an  appointment  would  be 
acceptable  to  them.  "Governor  Brough,"  said  he, 
"  that  arm  which  shall  be  the  most  successful  in  putting 
down  this  wicked  rebellion,  is  the  arm  which  will  be 
at  present  most  acceptable  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  and  the  authorities  at  Washington,  be  that  a 
white  or  black  arm."  The  governor,  smiling,  he  con- 
tinues, replied  that  he  did  not  dispute  it,  adding  that 
he  thought  I  might  leave  for  my  destination,  and  re- 
gard the  commission  as  certain  to  be  forwarded  with 
documents  for  other  state  officers. 

After  a  short  visit  to  his  home,  he  engaged  his  exam- 
ining surgeon,  an  accomplished  colored  gentleman,  who 
had  been  with  him  in  the  Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 
cut recruiting  service,  returned,  and  arrived  at  Nash- 
ville, where  in  two  days,  he  received  his  commission 
from  the  governor. 

At  Nashville  the  famous  letter  (famous  at  least  to 
those  whom  it  concerned)  of  Major  General  Sherman, 
then  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  to  Lieutenant  ColonelJohn  A. 
Spooner,  provost  marshal  general  and  commissioner 
from  Massachusetts  for  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  and 
Georgia,  was  under  consideration  and  discussion.  He 
writes  of  it,  "Great  was  the  consternation  produced 
among  'government  agents'  there;  and  such  were  the 
offers  made  to  me  by  parties  for  '  partnership,  division 
of  profits,  and  the  like,'  that  I  was  constrained  to  have 
on  hand  but  the  one  answer  for  all.  Gentlemen,  I  have  an 
honorable  appointment.  I  cannot  and  wTill  not  sell  my 
brethren  for  a  price,  nor  my  birthright  for  a  mess  of 
pottage."  Worn  out  by  these  actions,  and  disgusted, 


150  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

he  left  the  place,  going  directly  to  Ohio,  where  after  a 
few  weeks  spent  in  Galliopolis  and  Portsmouth,  "  I  be- 
came convinced,"  he  said,  "that  the  business  of  recruit- 
ing had  reached  such  a  state  of  demoralization  that  no 
honorable  man,  except  a  U.  S.  commissioned  officer^ 
could  continue  it  successfully  without  jeopardizing  his 
own  reputation."  He  returned  home,  gaining  nothing 
but  experience  by  his  commission. 


RECRUITING  AS  IT  WAS.  151 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

UECRUITING  AS  IT  WAS. 

take  the  following,  on  the  subject  of  recruit- 
ing,  with  its  light  and  shadows  as  viewed  by 
him.  Whatever  of  good  or  evil  was  entailed  in  his 
regulations,  with  him  the  responsibility  rested.  He 
says,  "  On  entering  this  service,  there  was  no  guide,  no 
precedent ;  but  every  one,  however  ignorant,  assumed 
and  pursued  a  course,  in  many  instances,  unjust  to  the 
recruit,  and  detrimental  to  the  service,  and  at  once  dis- 
honorable, but  subservient  to  his  own  selfish  ends. 
This  was  apparent,  and  at  once  made  the  object  of 
attention.  For  instance,  the  Fifty-fourth  Massachu- 
setts Volunteers  were  raised  by  special  provision  by  the 
citizens  or  private  contributions,  as  was  understood, 
allowing  each  enlisted  man  fifty  dollars  bounty,  which 
at  that  time  was  twenty-five  dollars  more  than  was 
being  given  by  most  of  the  states,  perhaps  by  any  other 
state.  It  wTas  then  understood  the  bounties  of  the 
Fifty-fourth  were  not  appropriated  by  the  state  funds. 
The  states  which  afterwards  raised  colored  troops  did 
so  from  state  appropriations.  Rhode  Island,  being  the 
next  to  Massachusetts  in  this  movement,  appropriated 
three  hundred  dollars  bounty  to  the  men."  It  was  in 
the  service*of  the  latter  state  he  acknowledged  receiv- 


152  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

ing  the  experience  necessary  to  comprehend  the  entire 
system  of  recruiting.  "  For,"  said  he,  "  in  the  service 
of  Massachusetts,  I  was  employed  under  my  distin- 
guished friends,  Charles  L.  Remond  and  C.  H.  Lang- 
ston,  Esqs.  My  duty  was  to  receive  and  execute  orders 
and  instructions,  not  to  give  them.  In  the  Rhode 
Island  service,  being  engaged  to  manage,  my  position 
and  duties  were  quite  different. 

"  The  states  which  gave  colored  troops  to  the  service 
made  speeiararrangements  for  recruiting  them,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  necessarily  a  great  part  of  them,  had 
to  come  from  other  places  than  the  state  which  organ- 
ized them.  The  provisions  made  for  recruiting  white 
soldiers  could  not  be  successfully  applied  in  the  case 
of  the  colored. 

"These  were  points  of  importance,  —  of  great  impor- 
tance,—  because  they  involve  principles  of  justice  to  all 
concerned. 

"  Rhode  Island,  for  instance,  paid  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  bounty  to  the  men  in  raising  the  heavy 
artillery,  leaving  a  residue  of  fifty  dollars  for  all  ex- 
penses incurred  —  salaries  of  officers,  agents,  sub- 
agents,  subsistence  of  recruits  till  mustered  in,  trans- 
portation —  a  heavy  item  of  expense,  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  greater  portion  of  these  men  were  from 
the  States  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri,  where 
the  agents  had  actually  to  go  to  get  them,  and  when 
obtained  in  Kentucky  and  Missouri,  for  the  most  part, 
it  cost  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  each  to  get 
across  the  river  to  the  Indiana  or  Illinois  side.  It 
will  be  readily  understood,  by  an  experienced  business 
man  or  financier,  that  these  immense  expanses  could 
not  be  kept  up  and  the  recruits  be  justly  dealt  with. 


RECRUITING  AS  IT  WAS.  153 

"Again,  Connecticut  appropriated  three  hundred 
dollars  bounty  to  the  men,  and  I  was  probably  the  first 
who  received  an  appointment,  by  contract,  to  manage 
her  recruiting  in  the  Western  States.  The  first  propo- 
sition in  meeting  the  military  authorities  was  to  fix  the 
bounties,  impressing  upon  the  gentlemen  the  fact  that 
bounties,  being  merely  awards,  were  large  or  small, 
according  to  circumstances;  that  all  frecdmen  who 
voluntarily  presented  themselves  for  enlistment,  it  fol- 
lows, should  and  would  receive  the  three  hundred  dol- 
lars, because  no  extra  or  special  expenses  were  in- 
curred. All  who  had  to  be  subsisted,  and  sent  from 
the  West  in  Indiana  and  Illinois,  should  receive  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  in  all  cases  where  slaves 
would  have  to  be  obtained  in  the  slave  states,  with  all 
the  risks  and  expenses,  one  hundred  dollars  was  ample 
pay.  When  such  men  as  the  brave  Voglesang,  the  in- 
trepid Lennox,  and  the  sons  of  Frederick  Douglass,  and 
my  own  son,  received  but  fifty  dollars,  regarding  it  as 
ample,  their  patriotism  inducing  them  to  join  without 
bounty.  Besides  this,  those  recruited  from  the  slave 
states  received  their  liberty  de  facto,  which  they  never 
would  have  attempted  without  our  agency. 

"  This  I  considered  justice,  and  so  established  it  as 
a  system  of  recruiting.  If  there  had  not  been  a  dol- 
lar, instead  of  being  a  hundred,  to  give  as  a  bounty  to 
a  single  slave,  or  to  the  sous  of  the  distinguished  Doug- 
lass, and  my  own,  I  should  have  acted  as  I  did  —  put 
my  own  son  in  the  army,  endeavor  to  get  the  bond- 
man in,  for  the  purpose  of  overthrowing  the  infamous 
system  of  slavery  -and  the  rebellion. 

"On   returning  from    Connecticut,  I  consulted  my 


154  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

distinguished  friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Garnet,  in  regard 
to  the  system  I  had  adopted,  of  which  he  highly 
approved,  as  *  coming  from  ourselves,  concerning 
ourselves? 

"  All  this,  however,  neither  covers,  defends,  nor  toler- 
ates in  any  degree  the  reprehensible  and  most  shameful 
impositions  continually  practised,  by  various  methods 
of  deceptions  under  the  pretext  of  recruiting.  What 
I  defend  is  a  legitimate  system  laid  down,  to  be  strictly 
conformed  to  the  letter.  Whatever  was  promised  to 
the  recruit  he  should  have  received,  and  this  should 
have  been  fixed  and  enforced  by  the  proper  authorities, 
and  not  left  optional  with  a  stolid  set  of  human 
brokers." 


CHANGING  POSITION.  155 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CHANGING  POSITION. 

appointment  of  the  black  major  of  infantry,  at 
the  time  of  its  public  announcement,  created  con- 
siderable discussion.  As  the  causes  leading  to  it  have 
never  yet  been  publicly  known,  to  gratify  a  legiti- 
mate curiosity,  we  will  give  it,  beginning  with  the 
materials  with  which  he  wrought  out  the  claims  of  his 
people  to  the  national  consideration.  Like  every  in- 
telligent observer  of  events,  he  had  noted  that  while 
the  rebellion  had  progressed  considerably,  the  status 
of  the  colored  people  had  shown  no  decided  change. 
The  policy  of  the  army  relative  to  the  slaves  was 
vague  and  undefined,  and,  in  many  instances,  brutal, 
while  the  fidelity  and  devotion  of  these  blacks  to  the 
Union  army  find  no  parallel  in  modern  times  away 
from  the  pages  of  romance.  No  overdrawn  picture,  but 
abounding  with  truthful  figures,  while  from  its  back- 
ground arise  countless  suggestions  to  the  nation,  was 
that  gracefully  presented  by  Major  Nichols  in  his 
"Story  of  the  Great  March,"  when  he  said,  "The  ne- 
groes all  tell  the  general  that  the  falsehoods  of  the 
rebel  papers  never  deceived  them,  and  that  they  be- 
lieved his  'retreats'  sure  victories;  that  they  would 
serve  the  Union  cause  in  any  way,  and  in  all  ways,  that 


156  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

they  could  —  as  soldiers,  as  drivers,  or  pioneers.  In- 
deed, the  faith,  earnestness,  and  heroism  of  the  black 
men  are  among  the  grandest  developments  of  this  war. 
When  I  think  of  the  universal  testimony  of  our  escaped 
soldiers,  who  enter  our  lines  every  day,  that,  in  the 
hundreds  of  miles  which  they  traverse  on  their  way. 
they  never  ask  the  poor  slave  in  vain  for  help ;  that 
the  poorest  negro  hides  and  shelters  them,  and  shares 
the  last  crumb  with  them,  —  all  this  impresses  me  with 
a  weight  of  obligation  and  a  love  for  them  that  stir  the 
very  depths  of  my  soul." 

Yet  these  services  were  not  sufficient  to  save  the 
bondman  from  being  returned  to  his  abject  condition. 
This  is  familiar  to  all,  especially  in  the  early  record  of 
the  army  of  the  Potomac;  and  for  a  long  time  during 
the  war  these  humiliating  scenes  wTere  being  enacted, 
either  openly  or  under  some  constitutional  disguise. 

The  word  "  contraband  "  had  been  spoken  into  his- 
tory by  the  great  radical  convert;  but  neither  that,  nor 
the  reticence  of  the  president  concerning  the  status  of 
the  blacks  seeking  the  Union  lines,  gave  light  to  the 
dark,  deplorable  situation. 

The  president  was  cognizant  of  these  acts,  as  he  at 
one  time  stated ;  but  apportioning  to  himself  but  lim- 
ited powers  under  the  constitution,,  he  hesitated  to 
proceed  beyond  these  limits,  unless  he  had  the  support 
of  the  people.  Silently  he  awaited  the  time  when  the 
country,  aroused  to  its  honor  and  best  interest,  would 
cast  out  from  it  this  ghoul  that  had  sustained  itself  on 
the  life-blood  of.  the  nation.  He  at  last  issued  his 
Emancipation  Proclamation ;  yet  this  could  not  accom- 
plish everything.  After  the  capture  of  Chattanooga,  a 


•CHANGING  POSITION.  157 

valiant  commander  wrote  to  Major-General  Palmer  in 
Kentucky,  "  Send  the  rebel  sympathizers  and  their  ne- 
groes down  the  river,  out  of  the  country,  and  let  them 
seek  a  clime  more  congenial  for  themselves  and  their 
peculiar  institution."  Thus,  whether  displayed  in  mili- 
tary parade  around  Washington,  or  in  cautious  recon- 
noitrings on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  or  in  the 
brilliant  engagement  of  Chickamauga,  to  the  terrible 
three  days'  struggle  but  glorious  harvest  of  Gettys- 
burg, the  policy  of  the  mighty  armies  of  the  Union 
converged  to  the  same  object — to  ignore  the  negro's 
claims,  and  send  the  slave  back  to  his  master. 

Delany  viewed  the  moral  bearing  of  this  tendency 
upon  the  future  of  his  people;  he  felt  that  in  these  re- 
peated acts  of  injustice  the  energies  of  the  blacks  were 
fast  being  chilled. 

On  this  subject  he  frequently  expressed  himself,  and 
persistently  urged  measures  then  untouched  as  the 
only  means  which  would  insure  success.  He  said 
when  he  made  known  his  plans  to  his  always  noble- 
hearted  friend,  Frederick  Douglass,  he  gave  him  en- 
couragement, adding  that  he  was  no  soldier  himself, 
but  had  given  two  sons  to  the  war. 

There  were  others  to  whom  he  made  these  measures 
known,  though  not  the  plans  by  which  he  intended 
placing  them  before  the  president,  among  them  we  find 
the  names  of  John  Jones,  Esq.,  of  Detroit,  his  colleague 
"  in  office,"  Dr.  Amos  Aray,  once  associated  with  him, 
Mr.  George  Vosburg,  a  man  of  sterling  worth  among  his 
people,  Dr.  Willis  Revels,  of  Indianapolis,  and  others 
not  unknown  to  fame. 

In   his   zeal    he    endeavored  to  induce  the  leading 


158  LIFE  OF  MA  JOE  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

politicians  among  the  colored  people  to  unite  upon 
some  settled  policy  by  which  they  should  be  governed, 
and  to  this  end  he  addressed  a  letter  through  a  paper 
supported  by  them  in  New  York,  invoking  a  national 
convention  of  the  representative  men,  for  the  purpose 
of  defining  their  position  in  relation  to  the  war;  but  it 
failed  to  meet  the  general  approbation. 
•  He  saw  the  progress  of  the  war  producing  contingen- 
cies, challenging  policies,  demanding  of  all  some  definite, 
immediate  action.  And  the  action  of  the  president, 
apart  from  positive  constitutional  obligations,  was 
based  upon  these.  Under  such  circumstances,  what 
need  was  most  demanded  was  reliable,  adequate 
means.  These  were  best  adapted  to  the  desired  end, 
and  suggested  by  such  as  applied  in  person  to  the 
president. 

He  said,  that  "to  wait  upon  the  president  at  such  a 
time  to  obtain  anything  from  him  could  only  be  real- 
ized by  having  something,  or  plan,  to  offer  the  govern- 
ment, or  it  would  be  demonstrating  an  expression  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  with  cap  in  hand,  and  ask, 4  Mr.  President, 
what  have  you  to  give  me?'  when  the  reply  invari- 
ably was, ;  Sir,  what  have  you  to  offer  me  ?  ": 

He  saw  at  one  time  one  of  the  possible  contingencies 
of  the  war  was  an  indication  of  foreign  intervention. 
The  government  had  its  own  methods  and  measures 
of  meeting  this  event;  but,  aside  from  this,  any  aid 
would  be  acceptable.  Where  could  this  be  found  ? 
Could  it  be  made  available?  and  who  will  offer  it? 
were  questions  of  importance  with  the  government. 

In  view  of  the  menacing  attitude  presented  by  two 
of  the  greatest  powers  of  the  world,  with  a  probability 


CHANGING  POSITION.  159 

of  others  following  them,  he  addressed  a  letter  on  the 
subject  to  the  Anglo-African,  setting  forth  what  he 
considered  the  best  measure  to  be  adopted  by  the  col 
ored  people  to  the  interest  of  the  country  in  the  event 
of  foreign  intervention.  Another  and  most  momen- 
tous contingency  he  viewed  from  his  stand-point  was, 
the  probability  of  the  south  calling  the  blacks  to  arms. 
^This  event,  to  every  intelligent  observer  of  the  times, 
was  from  the  first  of  as  much  importance  to  the  govern- 
ment as  that  of  foreign  intervention.  It  was  not  least 
among  the  complicated  problems  awaiting  the  solution 
of  the  nation ;  for  while  all  others  might  be  met  by  the 
general  usages  and  laws  of  war,  diplomacy,  and  force 
of  arms,  the  last  could  only  be  met  by  measures  at 
once  unprecedented,  and  peculiar  to  the  method  of 
meeting  belligerents. 

To  present  the  means  of  meeting  these  ends  was  cer- 
tainly of  vast  importance  to  the  government. 

Thus,  in  view  of  the  threat  of  Jefferson  Davis  to  arm 
the  blacks,  as  slaves  to  fight  for  the  establishment  of 
a  slave  confederacy,  he  argued  that  some  means  should 
be  devised  in  order  to  frustrate  this  design.  . 

To  many  of  the  leading  colored  men  of  the  North, 
and  the  old  abolitionists,  this  was  comparatively  an 
easy  task, — having  originated  that  great  scheme 
known  as  the  Underground  Railroad,  which,  for  nearly 
forty  years  had  baffled  the  comprehension  of  their  foes 
—  a  scheme  so  well  devised  and  skilfully  conducted, 
that  from  one  to  forty  were  continually  being  passed 
out  of  every  part  of  the  far  South  to  Texas,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Canada. 

These  men  had   the  same  means  of  reaching   the 


160  LIFE  OF  MAJOB  M.  R.  DELANY. 

slaves,  and  through  this  medium  could  reach  them,  in 
order  to  prevent  their  joining  their  oppressors. 

None  expected  at  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion  that, 
in  its  extreme  weakness,  the  tottering  Confederacy 
would  call  for  aid  from  those  its  very  first  utterance  had 
sought  to  consign  to  perpetual  degradation.  And  we 
knew  not  what  temptation  would  be  held  out  the  next 
hour,  in  order  to  secure  the  aim  of  the  South.  There- 
fore, can  the  means  be  made  available  immediately, 
was  a  matter  of  painful  anxiety. 

At  length  he  determined  on  the  execution  of  his  long- 
designed  plans.  An  event  renewed  his  zeal.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1865,  he  received  a  despatch  from  a  friend  to  go 
to  Indianapolis,  as  Governor  Morton  had  proposed  to 
raise  two  additional  black  regiments  for  the  service. 
And  this  friend,  to  whose  telegram  he  responded,  had 
presented  his  claims  to  the  consideration  of  the  friends 
of  the  movement,  hearing  that  they  were  determined, 
if  possible,  to  secure  the  appointment  of  a  black  officer 
for  the  state,  as  acting  superintendent,  commissioned 
with  the  rank  of  captain. 

But  intelligence  being  soon  after  received  from  the 
secretary  of  war  disapproving  of  the  measure,  he  im- 
mediately returned  to  Wilberforce  College,  where,  more 
fully  to  identify  himself  with  the  interests  of  the  coun- 
try, as  well  as  to  secure  educational  advantages  for  his 
children,  he  had  previously  removed  his  family  from 
Canada.  Thence  he  set  out  for  Washington.  During 
the  time  he  was  engaged  in  recruiting  for  the  service, 
he  had  been  a  keen  observer  of  measures  developed  in 
the  progress  of  the  rebellion.  Pie  had  been  in  corre- 
spondence with  many  of  the  leading  men  of  both  races 


CHANGING  POSITION.  161 

in  the  country,  and  in  his  own  mind  had  been  dedu- 
cing measures  applicable  to  the  events  transpiring  rel- 
ative to  the  colored  people.  Hence  his  presence  in 
Washington,  to  see  the  chief  magistrate,  though  well 
aware  of  the  failure  of  others  of  his  race  who  had  pre- 
ceded him  there,  to  accomplish  a  satisfactory  result. 
This  consideration  would  have  deterred  many  men,  for 
among  those  who  had  sought  the  president  were  men 
noted  for  their  high  attainments  and  general  popularity. 
Casting  from  him  all  suggestions  of  the  impossibility 
of  success  by  the  strength  of  his  character,  without  aid 
or  adventitious  surroundings,  he  struck  out  into  a  path 
before  untrodden  by  others  of  his  race. 

How  it  was  accomplished  we  propose  to  relate,  as  a 
part  of  the  history  of  the  great  revolution,  and  as  the 
crowning  act  of  the  noble  president's  life  and  his  great 
secretary  of  war. 

Said  Dr.  James  McCune  Smith  of  this  movement, 
"Delany  is  a  success  among  the  colored  men;"  and 
subsequent  events  proved  the  correctness  of  the  asser- 
tion. 

11 


162  LIFE  OF  MA  JOE  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PRIVATE   COUNCIL  AT  WASHINGTON. 

THE  6th  of  February,  1865,  found  him  in  Wash- 
ington, for  the  purpose  of  having  an  interview,  if 
possible,  with  President  Lincoln  and  the  secretary  of 
war.  To  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Henry  Highland  Garnet, 
whose  guest  he  was,  he  made  known  the  principles  on 
which  he  based  his  intended  interview. 

Mr.  Garnet,  living  in  Washington,  and  cognizant  of 
every  measure  inaugurated  among  the  colored  people 
relative  to  the  war,  and  remembering  their  ill  success 
with  the  executive,  at  first  attempted  to  discourage 
him.  Mr.  Garnet  said  to  him,  "Don't  aim  to  say  too 
much  in  that  direction.  While  your  position  is  a  good 
one,  yet  I  am  afraid  you  will  not  see  the  president.  So 
many  of  our  men  have  called  upon  him  of  late,  all  ex- 
pecting something,  and  coming  away  dissatisfied,  some 
of  them  openly  complaining,  that  I  am  fearful  he  has 
come  to  the  conclusion  to  receive  no  more  black  visit- 
ors." To  this  he  replied,  "Mr.  Garnet,  I  see  you  are 
mistaken  in  regard  to  my  course.  I  am  here  to  ask 
nothing  of  the  president,  but  to-  offer  him  something 
for  the  government.  If  it  suits  him,  and  he  accepts,  I 
will  take  anything  he  may  offer  me  in  return." 

His  friend,  still  persisting,  responded  to  him :  said  he, 


PRIVATE  COUNCIL  AT  WASHINGTON.         163 

"  Doctor,  I  see  you  are  on  the  '  right  track,'  but  I  am 
fearful,  after  all,  that  you  will  not  get  to  see  him."  On 
Major  -Delany  proposing  the  secretary  of  war  as  a 
medium  through  which  to  reach  the  president,  Mr. 
Garnet  exclaimed,  "  My  dear  sir,  you  have  made  mat- 
ters worse.  I  have  been  abroad ;  I  have  been  near  the 
persons  of  nobility  and  royalty ;  but  I  never  saw  per- 
sonages so  hard  to  reach  as  the  heads  of  government 
in  Washington."  This  information  by  no  means  de- 
terred him.  It  was  impossible  for  a  host  to  turn  Mar- 
tin Delany  from  his  task,  determined  as  he  was  to 
continue  it  to  the  end. 

He  remarked  to  the  reverend  gentleman  that  "the 
mansion  of  every  government  has  outer  and  inner 
doors,  the  outer  defended  by  guards ;  the  security  of 
the  inner  is  usually  a  secret,  except  to  the  inmates  of 
the  council-chamber.  Across  this  inner  lies  a  ponderous 
beam,  of  the  finest  quality,  highly  polished,  designed 
only  for  the  finest  cabinet-work;  it  can  neither  be 
stepped  over  nor  passed  around,  and  none  can  enter 
except  this  is  moved  away ;  and  he  that  enters  is  the 
only  one  to  remove  it  at  the  time,  which  is  the  required 
passport  for  his  admission.  I  can  pass  the  outer  door, 
through  the  guards,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  I  can 
move  this  polished  beam  of  cabinet-work,  and  I  will 
do  it." 

Mr.  Garnet,  becoming  convinced  by  his  persistency, 
that  if  that  strength  of  will  and  perseverance  of  a 
most  untiring  character,  which  had  contributed  so  much 
to  his  successes  on  other  occasions,  could  avail,  then  h'is 
friend's  success  in  this  case  was  certain.  Turning  to 
his  lady,  who  was  present,  he  said,  "  I  believe  he  will 


164  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  E.  DEL  ANY. 

do  it.  Go,  my  brother,"  added  he,  "  and  may  God  speed 
you  to  a  full  accomplishment  of  your  desires."  The 
lady's  response,  "  Of  course  he  will,"  was  not  without 
effect,  coming  when  most  needed,  and  ratifying  a  faith 
in  perseverance. 

He  set  himself  to  work  to  devise  some  means  by 
which  to  gain  the  desired  interview,  and  succeeded  so 
far,  that  on  Monday,  8th  of  February,  he  sent  his  card 
up  to  the  president,  and  on  the  same  afternoon,  about 
three  o'clock,  while  visiting  the  patent  office,  a  message 
was  received  by  him,  that  an  audience  was  granted  for 
the  next  morning  at  eight  o'clock. 

The  auspicious  morning  dawned  upon  him,  and  the 
appointed  hour  found  him  advanced  within  the  "  outer 
gate."  The  president  was  absent,  at  the  war  depart- 
ment. But  not  unmindful  of  his  engagement,  he  left 
a  messenger  to  be  sent  after  him. 

In  the  appointment  of  Martin  Delany,  it  was  for  no 
holiday  service,  or  for  conciliatory  measures  towards 
the  colored  people  and  their  friends,  for  that  could 
have  been  more  easily  and  consistently  effected  by 
promoting  some  from  among  the  gallant  soldiers 
already  in  the  service.  Their  heroism  and  endurance 
in  the  field,  their  discipline  and  manly  bearing  in  the 
camp,  are  the  nation's  household  stories.  Familiar  to 
all  is  the  splendid  martial  fame  acquired  by  the  colored 
regiments  of  Massachusetts,  while  their  repeated  -re- 
fusal, to  a  man,  for  nearly  one  year,  to  receive  from  the 
government  less  than  the  fulfilment  of  its  pledges, 
under  which  they  enrolled  as  soldiers  of  Massachu- 
setts, has  passed  into  the  history  of  our  country,  fur- 
nishing an  attitude  of  the  moral  sublime  unparalleled 
amid  the  many  glorious  achievements  of  our  war. 


PKIVATE  COUNCIL  AT  WASHINGTON.         165 

But  the  new  appointment  was  made  to  carry  out 
certain  policies  of  the  administration,  which  remain  un- 
developed in  consequence  of  the  termination  of  the 
rebellion. 

If  the  rebellion  had  continued,  these  measures  would 
have  been  developed  of  necessity,  and  like  all  other 
good  measures  of  the  war,  would  have  been  approved 
by  a  generous,  public  sentiment.  But  the  war  having 
ceased,  they  remain  on  record,  to  the  honor  of  the  two 
great  heads  and  hearts  that  conceived  them  and  antici- 
pated their  adoption. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Stanton,  he  says,  "  The  secretary 
of  war  ever  stood  side  by  side  with  the  great  and  good 
President  Lincoln,  in  every  advanced  measure.  He 
stood  foremost  in  the  cabinet  in  the  interest  of  the  col- 
ored people.  Now  that  the  president  has  passed  away, 
I  trust  that  the  noble  war  minister  will  receive  the  re- 
ward due  to  him  by  a  grateful  people." 


166  LIFE  OF  MA  JOE  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  COUNCIL-CHAMBER,— PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

WE  give  in  Major  Delany's  own  language  his  in- 
terview with  President  Lincoln. 

He  tells  us,  "  On  entering  the  executive  chamber, 
and  being  introduced  to  his  excellency,  a  generous 
grasp  and  shake  of  the  hand  brought  me  to  a  seat 
in  front  of  him.  No  one  could  mistake  the  fact  that 
an  able  and  master  spirit  was  before  me.  Serious 
without  sadness,  and  pleasant  withal,  he  was  soon 
seated,  placing  himself  at  ease,  the  better  to  give 
me  a  patient  audience.  He  opened  the  conversation 
first. 

"  '  What  can  I  do  for  you,  sir  ? '  he  inquired. 

"  '  Nothing,  Mr.  President,'  I  replied ;  *  but  I've  come 
to  propose  something  to  you,  which  I  think  will  be 
beneficial  to  the  nation  in  this  critical  hour  of  her 
peril.'  I  shall  never  forget  the  expression  of  his 
countenance  and  the  inquiring  look  which  he  gave 
me  when  I  answered  him. 

" '  Go  on,  sir,'  he  said,  as  I  paused  through  deference 
to  him.  I  continued  the  conversation  by  reminding 
him  of  the  full  realization  of  arming  the  blacks  of  the 
South,  and  the  ability  of  the  blacks  of  the  North  to 
defeat  it  by  complicity  with  those  at  the  South,  through 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  167 

the  medium  of  the  Underground  Railroad — a  measure 
known  only  to  themselves. 

"I  next  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  of  the  heart- 
less and  almost  relentless  prejudice  exhibited  towards 
the  blacks  by  the  Union  army,  and  that  something 
ought  to  be  done  to  check  this  growing  feeling  against 
the  slave,  else  nothing  that  we  could  do  would  avail. 
And  if  such  were  not  expedited,  all  might  be  lost. 
That  the  blacks,  in  every  capacity  in  which  they  had 
been  called  to  act,  had  done  their  part  faithfully  and 
well.  To  this  Mr.  Lincoln  readily  assented.  I  con- 
tinued :  '  I  would  call  your  attention  to  another  fact 
of  great  consideration ;  that  is,  the  position  of  confi- 
dence in  which  they  have  been  placed,  when  your  offi- 
cers have  been  under  obligations  to  them,  and  in  many 
instances  even  the  army  in  their  power.  As  pickets, 
scouts,  and  guides,  you  have  trusted  them,  and  found 
them  faithful  to  the  duties  assigned  ;  and  it  follows  that 
if  you  can  find  them  of  higher  qualifications,  they  may, 
with  equal  credit,  fill  higher  and  more  important  trusts.' 

" '  Certainly]  replied  the  president,  in  his  most  em- 
phatic manner.  *And  what  do  you  propose  to  do  ?'  he 
inquired. 

"I  responded,  CI  propose  this,  sir;  but  first  permit 
me  to  say  that,  whatever  I  may  desire  for  black  men  in 
the  army,  I  know  that  there  exists  too  much  prejudice 
among  the  whites  for  the  soldiers  to  serve  under  a 
black  commander,  or  the  officers  to  be  willing  to  asso- 
ciate with  him.  These  are  facts  which  must  be  ad- 
mitted, and,  under  the  circumstances,  must  be  regarded, 
as  they  cannot  be  ignored.  And  I  propose,  as  a  most 
effective  remedy  to  prevent  enrolment  of  the  blacks 


168  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

in  the  rebel  service,  and  induce  them  to  run  to,  instead 
of  from,  the  Union  forces  —  the  commissioning  and 
promotion  of  black  men  now  in  the  army,  according  to 
merit.' 

"  Looking  at  me  for  a  moment,  earnestly  yet  anxious- 
ly, he  demanded,  'How  will  you  remedy  the  great 
difficulty  you  have  just  now  so  justly  described,  about 
the  objections  of  white  soldiers  to  colored  commanders, 
and  officers  to  colored  associates?' 

"I  replied,  <I  have  the  remedy,  Mr.  President, 
which  has  not  yet  been  stated  ;  and  it  is  the  most  im- 
portant suggestion  of  my  visit  to  you.  And  I  think  it 
is  just  what  is  required  to  complete  the  prestige  of  the 
Union  army.  I  propose,  sir,  an  army  of  blacks,  com- 
manded entirely  t>y  black  officers,  except  such  whites 
as  may  volunteer  to  serve  ;  this  army  to  penetrate 
through  the  heart  of  the  South,  and  make  conquests, 
with  the  banner  of  Emancipation  unfurled,  proclaiming 
freedom  as  they  go,  sustaining  and  protecting  it  by 
arming  the  emancipated,  taking  them  as  fresh  troops, 
and  leaving  a  few  veterans  among  the  new  freed  men, 
when  occasion  requires,  keeping  this  banner  unfurled 
until  every  slave  is  free,  according  to  the  letter  of  your 
proclamation.  I  would  also  take  from  those  already  in 
the  service  all  that  are  competent  for  commission  offi- 
cers, and  establish  at  once  in  the  South  a  camp  of  in- 
structions. By  this  we  could  have  in  about  three 
months  an  army  of  forty  thousand  blacks  in  motion, 
the  presence  of  which  anywhere  would  itself  be  ~ak 
power  irresistible.  You  should  have  an  army  of 
blacks,  President  Lincoln,  commanded  entirely  by 
blacks,  the  sight  of  which  is  required  to  give  confi- 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  169 

dcnce  to  the  slaves,  and  retain  them  to  the  Union,  stop 
foreign  intervention,  and  speedily  bring  the  war  to  a 
close.' 

" '  This,'  replied  the  president,  *  is  the  very  thing  I 
have  been  looking  and  hoping  for ;  but  nobody  offered 
it.  I  have  thought  it  over  and  over  again.  I  have 
talked  about  it ;  I  hoped  and  prayed  for  it ;  but  till 
now  it  never  has  been  proposed.  White  men  couldn't 
do  this,  because  they-  are  doing  all  in  that  direction 
now  that  they  can ;  but  we  find,  for  various  reasons,  it 
does  not  meet  the  case  under  consideration.  The 
blacks  should  go  to  the  interior,  and  the  whites  be  kept 
on  the  frontiers.' 

" i  Yes,  sir,'  I  interposed  ;  '  they  would  require  but 
little,  as  they  could  subsist  on  the  country  as  they 
went  along.' 

" '  Certainly,'  continued  he ;  'a  few  light  artillery, 
with  the  cavalry,  would  comprise  your  principal  ad- 
vance, because  all  the  siege  work  would  be  on  the 
frontiers  and  waters,  done  by  the  white  division  of  the 
army.  Won't  this  be  a  grand  thing?'  he  exclaimed, 
joyfully.  He  continued,  '  When  I  issued  my  Emanci- 
pation Proclamation,  I  had  this  thing  in  contempla- 
tion. I  then  gave  them  a  chance  by  prohibiting  any 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  army;  but  they  did  not 
embrace  it,'  said  hef  rather  sadly,  accompanying  the 
word  with  an  emphatic  gesture. 

" '  But,  Mr.  President,'  said  I,  '  these  poor  people 
could  not  read  your  proclamation,  nor  could  they 
know  anything  about  it,  only,  when  they  did  hear,  to 
know  that  they  were  free.' 

" '  But  you  of  the  'North  I  expected  to  take  advan- 
tage of  it,'  he  replied. 


170  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

"  '  Our  policy,  sir,'  I  answered,  '  was  directly  opposite, 
supposing  that  it  met  your  approbation.  To  this  end  I 
published  a  letter  against  embarrassing  or  compromis- 
ing the  government  in  any  manner  whatever ;  for  us  to 
remain  passive,  except  in  case  of  foreign  intervention, 
then  immediately  to  raise  the  slaves  to  insurrection.' 

" l  Ah,  I  remember  the  letter,'  he  said, '  and  thought  at 
the  time  that  you  mistook  my  designs.  But  .the  effect 
will  be  better  as  it  is,  by  giving  character  to  the  blacks, 
both  North  and  South,  as  a  peaceable,  inoffensive 
people.'  Suddenly  turning,  he  said,  'Will  you  take 
command?' 

"  'If  there  be  none  better  qualified  than  I  am,  sir,  by 
that  time  I  will.  While  it  is  my  .desire  to  serve,  as 
black  men  we  shall  have  to  prepare  ourselves,  as  we 
have  had  no  opportunities  of  experience  and  practice 
in  the  service  as  officers.' 

"'  That  matters  but  little,  comparatively,'  he  replied  ; 
*  as  some  of  the  finest  officers  we  have  never  studied 
the  tactics  till  they  entered  the  army  as  subordinates. 
And  again,'  said  he,  'the  tactics  are  easily  learned, 
especially  among  your  people.  It  is  the  head  that 
we  now  require  most  —  men  of  plans  and  executive 
ability.' 

"'I  thank  you,  Mr.  President,'  said  I,  'for  the  — ' 

" '  No  —  not  at  all,'  he  interrupted. 

"'I  will  show  you  some  letters  of  introduction,  sir,' 
said  I,  putting  my  hand  in  my  pocket  to  get  them. 

"'Not  now,' he  interposed;  cl  know  all  about  you. 
I  see  nothing  now  to  be  done  but  to  give  you  a  line 
of  introduction  to  the  secretary  of  war.' 

"Just  as  he  began  writing,  the  cannon  commenced 
boomingi 


PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  171 

" '  Stanton  is  firing !  listen !  he  is  in  his  glory !  noble 
man  ! '  he  exclaimed. 

" '  What  is  it,  Mr.  President  ? '  I  asked. 

"< The  firing!' 

" '  What  is  it  about,  sir,'  I  reiterated,  ignorant  of  the 
cause. 

" '  Why,  don't  you  know  ?  Haven't  you  heard  the 
news?  Charleston  is  ours!'  he  answered,  straighten- 
ing up  from  the  table  on  which  he  was  writing  for  an 
instant,  and  then  resuming  it.  He  soon  handed  me  a 
card,  on  which  was  written,  — 

*  February  8,  1865. 
*  HON.  E.  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War. 

1  Do  not  fail  to  have  an  interview  with  this  most  extraordinary 
and  intelligent  black  man. 

*  A.  LINCOLN.' 

"This  card  showed  he  perfectly  understood  my  views 
and  feelings ;  hence  he  was  not  content  that  my  color 
should  make  its  own  impression,  but  he  expressed  it 
with  emphasis,  as  though  a  point  was  gained.  The 
thing  desired  presented  itself;  not  simply  a  man  that 
was  black,  because  these  had  previously  presented 
themselves,  in  many  delegations  and  committees, — 
men  of  the  highest  intelligence,  —  for  various  objects; 
but  that  which  he  had  wished  and  hoped  for,  their 
own  proposed  measures  matured  in  the  council-chamber 
had  never  been  fully  presented  to  them  in  the  person  of 
a  black  man." 

This,  then,  was  what  was  desired  to  complete  the 
plans  of  the  president  and  his  splendid  minister,  the 
secretary  of  war.  The  "  ponderous  beam,"  being  re- 
moved, to  use  his  figurative  expression,  his  passport  was 


172  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

clear  to  every  part  of  the  mansion.  He  entered  the  war 
department  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the  minister.  As 
he  entered,  a  glance  revealed  to  him  the  presiding  genius 
of  the  situation,  surrounded  by  his  assistants.  In  the 
room  was  a  pressing  crowd  of  both  sexes,  representing 
nearly  every  condition  of  life,  each  in  turn  endeavoring 
to  reach  the  centre  of  the  room,  where,  at  an  elevated 
desk,  stood  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  times,  and 
the  able  director  of  the  war  department. 

After  he  had  sent  forward  his  card,  he  was  requested 
by  the  secretary  in  person,  to  whom  he  was  not  pre- 
viously unknown,  to  call  at  the  department  again. 

He  had  gained  the  interview  with  the  president  that 
he  wished,  and  the  indications  were  brighter  than  his 
most  sanguine  expectations  had  promised.  The  war 
minister's  influence  alone  could  eifect  the  balance. 

He  sought  Dr.  William  Elder,  the  distinguished  biog- 
rapher of  Dr.  Kane,  of  Arctic  memory,  who  was  then 
chief  of  the  bureau  of  statistics,  and  gave  him  an 
account  of  his  mission  to  the  president. 

After  explaining  everything  to  the  doctor,  his  face 
assuming  an  expression  peculiar  to  himself,  of  a  whole- 
souled  satisfaction,  he  exclaimed,  "  I'll  be  hanged  if  I 
haven't  got  the  thing !  just  the  thing  !  Will  you  give 
me  that  in  writing  ? "  he  asked ;  u  I  mean  the  points 
touched  upon,  that  may  be  written  in  a  letter  to  me." 

On  receiving  it,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
after  he  had  read  it,  he  turned  to  the  future  major,  and 
said,  "  You  shall  have  what  you  want,"  in  like  manner 
as  he  replied  to  a  speech  of  Louis  Kossuth,  when  he 
told  him  if  he  went  to  war  with  Austria,  he  shouldn't 
die. 


SECRETARY  STANTON.  173 

When  Delany  left  Dr.  Elder,  he  was  thoroughly  con- 
vinced, that  if  the  secretary  of  war  could  be  influenced 
by  any  man,  in  regard  to  his  mission,  in  none  abler 
could  he  depend  than  upon  this  true  and  earnest  advo- 
cate of  his  race. 

The  next  call  at  the  war  department  was  made  the 
following  Monday,  the  12th  inst.  His  reception  there, 
being  equally  as  cordial  as  the  first,  seemed  already  to 
indicate  success  to  his  measures. 

"What  do  you  propose  to  do,  doctor?"  asked  the 
secretary,  as  Dr.  Delany  began  to  explain  to  him  as  he 
did  to  the  president.  "  I  understand  the  whole  thing, 
and  fully  comprehend  your  design  ;  I  have  frequently 
gone  over  the  whole  ground, 'in  council  with  the  presi- 
dent. What  do  you  wish  ?  What  position  ?"  Here- 
plied,  — 

"In  any  position  or  place  whatever,  in  which  I  may 
be  instrumental  in  promoting  the  measures  proposed, 
and  be  of  service  to  the  country,  so  that  I  am  not  sub- 
ject and  subordinate  to  every  man  who  holds  a  commis- 
sion, and,  with  such,  chooses  to  assume  authority." 

"  Will  you  take  the  field  ?  "  asked  the  secretary. 

"  I  should  like  to  do  so  as  soon  as  possible,  but  not 
until  I  have  had  sufficient  discipline  and  practice  in  a 
camp  of  instruction,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  black 
officers  to  command  each  regiment,"  was  the  answer 
given. 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  secretary,  "you  must  establish  -1 
your  camp  of  instruction ;  and  as  you  have  a  general  1 
knowledge  of  the  qualified  colored  men  of  the  country^  I 
I  propose  to  commission  you  at  once,  and  send  you  \ 
South  to  commence  raising  troops,  to  be  commanded  by 


174  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

black  officers,  on  the  principles  you  proposed,  of  which 
I  most  highly  approve,  to  prevent  all  clashing  or 
jealousy,  —  because  of  no  contact  to  arouse  prejudices. 
It  is  none  of  white  men's  business  what  rank  a  black 
man  holds  over  his  own  people.  I  shall  assign  you  to 
Charleston,  with  advices  and  instructions  to  Major 
General  Saxton.  Do  you  know  him?"  he  asked. 
Being  answered,  he  continued,  "  He  is  an  unflinching 
friend  of  your  race.  You  will  impart  to  him,  in  detail, 
that  which  will  not  be  written.  The  letter  giving 
special  instructions  will  be  given  to  you  —  all  further 
instructions  to  be  obtained  at  the  department." 

Assistant  Adjutant  General  of  Volunteers  Colonel 
C.  W.  Foster,  at  this  juncture  having  been  sent  for, 
was  instructed  by  the  secretary  of  war  to  take"  him  to 
his  department,  and  make  the  necessary  examination ; 
there  being  no  rejection,  to  prepare  and  fill  out  a  parch- 
ment, with  commission  of  Major  of  Infantry,  the  regi- 
ment to  be  left  blank,  to  be  filled  by  order  of  Major 
General  Saxton,  according  to  instructions  to  be  given, 
and  to  report  the  next  morning  at  eleven  o'clock. 

After  the  examination  by  the  adjutant  general,  he 
remarked,  "  This  is  certainly  an  important  and  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  war.  And  the  secretary  must  expect 
much  to  be  done  by  you,  for  he  certainly  holds  you  in 
high  esteem."  * 

"I  hope,  colonel,"  he  replied,  "that  neither  the  hon- 
orable secretary  of  war  nor  the  government  will  expect 
too  much  from  an  individual  like  myself.  My  only 
hope  is,  that  I  may  be  able  to  do  my  duty  well  and 
satisfactorily." 

?  I  have  no  fears  for  your  success,"  returned  the  pqlr 


SECRETARY  STANTON.  175 

onel ;  "you  have  qualifications  and  ability,  and  must 
succeed,  when  your  chances  are  such  as  they  will  now 
be.  This  is  a  great  thing  for  you,"  he  continued,  "  and 
you  have  now  an  opportunity  of  making  yourself  any- 
thing that  you  please,  and  doing  for  your  race  all  that 
may  be  required  at  the  hands  of  the  government."  He, 
attempting  to  thank  the  colonel  for  the  encouraging  as 
well  as  complimentary  remarks,  was  stopped  by  him, 
saying,  "  I  speak  as  I  think  and  feel  about  it.  The  sec- 
retary has  great  confidence  in  you,  and  I  simply  wish 
to  indorse  it  for  your  encouragement.  There  is  noth- 
ing now  to  be  done,"  he  continued,  "  but  to  call  to- 
morrow, and  go  with  me  to  the  war  department  to 
report  finally  to  the  secretary  of  war,  and  receive  your 
commission  from  his  hands."  All  arrangements  being 
completed  in  the  adjutant's  department,  he  withdrew. 


176  LIFE  OF  MAJOE  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE   GOLD   LEAF. 

T  O  Sabbath  in  war  times,  we  are  told,  and  there  was 
no  exception  in  this  case.  The  following  morning 
(Sabbath),  in  accordance  with  the  appointment,  Delany 
reported  himself  at  the  office  of  the  adjutant  general, 
who  accompanied  him  to  the  war  department.  Here 
the  secretary,  making  the  necessary  inquiries  of  the 
adjutant,  received  the  parchment  from  him.  History 
repeated  itself —  the  Hebrew  in  the  palaces,  the  Hun 
in  high  places.  At  that  moment  the  great  war 
minister  of  our  revolution,  affixing  his  official  signature, 
made  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  a  hitherto  unrecognized 
race,  and  a  pledge  in  the  name  of  the  nation  to  them 
irrevocable  through  all  time.  It  seemed  remarkable 
that  in  two  hemispheres  this  man  should  be  selected 
from  among  so  many  others  to  represent  marked  events 
in  .the  history  of  his  race  !  Says  Lamartine,  "  We 
should  not  despise  any,  for  the  finger  of  destiny  marks 
in  the  soul,  and  not  upon  the  brow." 

So  long  had  Delany  fought  against  error  and  injustice 
towards  his  race,  that  it  seemed  almost  hopeless  to  wit- 
ness, in  his  day,  the  faintest  semblance  of  recognition 
of  their  right  in  this  land,  and  for  him  to  be  the  first 
to  receive  that  appointment  seemed  indeed  to  promise 
an  age  "  of  better  metal." 


THE  GOLD  LEAF.  177 

While  the  interesting  ceremony  was  being  performed, 
a  major  general  entered  the  apartment,  followed  scion 
after  by  Senator  Ben  Wade,  of  Ohio,  now  president  of 
the  Senate,  before  whom  the  new  officer  was  addressed 
for  the  first  time  with  a  military  title. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  secretary,  "  I  am  just  now  cre- 
ating a  black  field  officer  for  the  United  States  service." 
Then,  addressing  himself  directly  to  the  new  officer,  he 
said,  "  Major  Delany,  I  take  great  pleasure  in  handing 
you  this  commission  of  Major  in  the  United  States  ar- 
my. You  are  the  first  of  your  race  who  has  been  thus 
honored  by  the  government ;  therefore  much  depends 
and  will  be  expected  of  you.  But  I  feel  .assured  it  is 
safe  in  your  hands." 

"  Honorable  Secretary,"  replied  the  major,  as  the 
secretary  concluded  his  remarks,  "  I  can  assure  you, 
whatever  be  my  failure  to  meet  the  expectations  con- 
cerning me,  on  one  thing  you  may  depend,  —  that 
this  parchment  will  never  be  dishonored  in  my  hands." 

"Of  this  I  am  satisfied.  God  bless  you!  Good  by." 
With  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  the  secretary  con- 
cluded, when  the  first  black  major  in  the  history  of  the 
republic  left  the  department. 

I  If  the  war  had  not  ended  so  soon  after  the  major  re- 
ceived his  commission,  there  exists  no  doubt  but  that 
his  merits  would  have  received  further  recognition. 
It  is  unlikely  that  the  government  would  have  given 
an  unmeaning  promotion,  and  thus  debar  him  from 
rising  to  the  higher  ranks  of  the  army  through  the 
same  medium  as  other  officers.  On  returning  to  the 
office  of  the  adjutant  general,  the  adjutant  remarked, 
"Major  Delany,  you  have  now  a  great  charge  intrusted 
12 


178  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

to  you,  —  a  great  responsibility,  certainly,  and  much 
wrll  be  expected  of  you,  both  by  your  friends  and  oth- 
ers. You  have  now  an  opportunity,  if  the  war  contin- 
ues, of  rising  in  your  position  to  the  highest  field  rank 
—  that  of  a  major  general." 

His  reply  was,  that  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  perform 
his  duty,  so  as  to  merit  the  approval  of  his  government 
and  his  superior  officers,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
intimated  courteously  that  further  promotion  would 
not  be  unacceptable  to  him. 

The  following  commission  is  in  the  usual  form ;  but, 
being  the  first  on  the  records  of  our  country  credited 
to  a  colored  American,  we  reproduce  it  here. 

The  Secretary  of  War  oftlie  United  States  of  America. 

To    ALL   WHO    SHALL    SEE   THESE   PRESENTS,    GREETING  : 

Know  ye,  that,  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in  the  pa- 
triotism, v#lor,  fidelity,  and  abilities  of  MARTIN  R.  DELANY,  the 
President  does  hereby  appoint  him  Major,  in  the  One  Hundred 
and  Fourth  Regiment  of  United  States  Colored  Troops,  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States,  to  rank  as  such  from  the  day  of  his 
muster  into  service,  by  the  duly  appointed  commissary  of  mus- 
ters, for  the  command  to  which  said  regiment  belongs. 

He  is  therefore  carefully  and  diligently  to  discharge  the  duty 
of  Major,  by  doing  and  performing  all  manner  of  things  there- 
unto belonging.  And  I  do  strictly  charge,  and  require,  all 
officers  and  soldiers  under  his  command  to  be  obedient  to  his 
orders  as  Major.  And  he  is  to  observe  and  follow  such  orders 
and  directions,  from  time  to  time,  as  he  shall  receive  from  me  or 
the  future  Secretary  of  War,  or  other  superior  officers  set  over 
him,  according  to  the  rules  and  discipline  of  war.  This  appoint- 
ment to  continue  in  force  during  the  pleasure  of  the  President 
for  the  time  being. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  the  War  Department,  in  the  City  of 


THE  GOLD  LEAF.  179 

Washington,  D.  C.,  this  twenty-sixth  day  of  February,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five. 
By  the  Secretary  of  War. 

EDWIN  M.  STANTON,  Secretary  of  War. 
C.  W.  FOSTER,  Assistant  Adjutant  General  Volunteers. 

(Indorsement.*) 

Mustered  into  the  United  States  Service,  February  27,  1865. 
HENRY  KETELLAS,  Captain  loth  Infantry, 

Chief  Muster  and  District  Officer. 

ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  OFFICE,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  Feb.  27,  18G5.  ) 

Sir :  I  forward  herewith  your  appointment  of  Major  in  the 
U.  S.  Colored  Troops ;  your  receipt  and  acceptance  of  which 
you  will  please  acknowledge  without  delay,  reporting  at  the 
same  time  your  age  and  residence,  when  appointed,  the  state 
where  born,  and  your  full  name  correctly  written.  Fill  up, 
subscribe,  and  return  as  soon  as  possible,  the  accompanying  oath, 
duly  and  carefully  executed. 

You  will  report  in  person  to  Brevet  Major  General  R.  Saxton, 
Beaufort,  South  Carolina. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

C.  W.  FOSTER, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General  Volunteert. 
Major  MARTIN  R.  DELANY,   U.  S.  Colored  Troops. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  A.  G.  OFFICE,      > 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Feb.  27,  1865.  j 
Captain  HENRY  KETELLAS,  15th  U.  S.  Infantry, 

Commissary  of  Musters  : 

I  am  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  instruct  you  to  mus- 
ter Major  Martin  R.  Delany,  U.  S.  Colored  Troops,  regi- 
ment into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  for  the  period  of 
three  years,  or  during  the  war,  as  of  this  date. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  C.  W.  FOSTER, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General  Volunteers. 


180  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Official  copy,  respectfully  furnished  for  the  information  of 
Major  Martin  R.  Delany,  U.  S.  Colored  Troops. 

C.  W.  FOSTER, 
Assistant  Adjutant  General  Volunteers. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  A.  G.  OFFICE,      > 
WASHINGTON,  Feb.  27,  1865.  J 

Brevet  Major  General  R.  SAXTON,  Supt.  Recruitment  and 
Organization  of  Colored  Troops,  Dept.  of  the 
South,  HiltQn  Head,  S.  G. 

General :  I  am  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  inform 
you  that  the  bearer,  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  U.  S.  Colored  Troops, 
has  been  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  and  assisting  you 
in  recruiting  and  organizing  colored  troops,  and  to  carry  out  this 
object  you  will  assign  him  to  duty  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 
You  will  observe  that  the  regiment  to  which  Major  Delany  is 
appointed  is  not  designated,  although  he  has  been  mustered  into 
service.  You  will  cause  Major  Delany  to  be  assigned  to,  and 
his  name  placed  upon  the  rolls  of,  the  first  regiment  of  colored 
troops  you  may  organize,  with  his  proper  rank,  not,  however, 
with  a  view  to  his  duty  in  such  regiment. 

I  am  also  directed  to  say,  that  Major  Delany  has  the  entire 
confidence  of  the  Department. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  C.  W.  FOSTER, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General  Volunteers. 
Official.  C.  W.  FOSTER, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General  Volunteers. 


IN  THE  FIELD.  181 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

IN  THE   FIELD. 

THE  appointment  of  the  black  officer  was  received, 
as  such  advanced  measures  are  generally,  with 
comments  of  all  shades.  By  the  friends  of  progress  it 
was  hailed  with  general  satisfaction. 

True  there  was,  prior  to  his  appointment,  one  of  like 
rank,  but  differing  in  position  —  that  of  Dr.  Augusta, 
of  Canada,  who  was  accepted  after  a  most  rigid  exam- 
ination, as  is  customary  in  such  cases. 

But  in  the  appointment  of  this  field  officer  there  ex- 
isted an  indisputable  recognition  of  the  claims  of  his 
race  to  the  country.  With  this  interpretation  those 
who  formerly  hesitated  in  accepting  the  policy  of  «the 
administration  now  upheld  it  with  confidence.  And 
from  the  golden  leaf  of  promise,  borne  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  first  black  officer,  a  light  clear  and  steady 
seemed  to  shine  forth,  illumining  with  a  strange,  wild 
splendor  the  hitherto  dark  pages  of  his  people's  his- 
tory, heralding  the  glory  of  the  future  to  them. 

Before  he  left  Washington,  he  communicated  with 
colored  men,  as  far  as  was  prudent,  to  make  the  neces- 
sary preparation  in  the  event  of  a  black  army  being 
organized,  to  be  commanded  by  black  officers.  For  in 
the  Union  army  there  were  many  men,  from  the  North 


182  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

especially,  of  fine  talent  and  scholastic  attainments, 
who,  from  their  experience  and  knowledge  gained  in 
the  military  campaigns,  could  at  once  be  made  avail- 
able. 

Certain  leading  spirits  of  the  "Underground  Rail- 
road" were  invoked.  Scouts  incog,  were  already  "  on 
to  Richmond,"  and  the  services  of  the  famous  Harriet 
Tubman,  having  been  secured  to  serve  in  the  South, 
had  received  her  transportation  for  Charleston,  S.  C. 

These  arrangements  being  effected,  he  went  to  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  to  meet  a  council  of  his  co-laborers,  in  order 
to  enforce  suitable  measures  by  which  the  slave  enlist- 
ment might  be  prevented,  and  to  demoralize  those 
already  enrolled,  as  rumors  had  reached  the  North  of 
such  enlistment  having  been  started  at  Richmond. 

With  his  friend  George  Vosburg,  Esq.,  in  the  lead, 
whom  he  likens  always  to  "  a  flame  alive,  but  unseen," 
the  most  active  measures  were  instituted  at  this  coun- 
cil, as  their  proceedings  show. 

These  gave  evidence  that  the  appointment  of  one  of 
their  number  was  recognized  by  them  as  an  appeal, 
though  the  day  was  far  spent  of  the  country's  need  for 
the  aid  of  the  colored  men  of  the  North,  and  at  the  first 
certain  sound  they  hastened  with  their  offerings. 

A  few  days  were  spent  at  his  home,  preparing  for  his 
departure ;  and  being  delayed  on  the  way  by  a  freshet, 
he  did  not  reach  New  York  until  the  second  day  after 
the  departure  of  the  steamer  for  Charleston.  While  it 
delayed  the  principal  measures,  it  gave  him  a  week  in 
New  York,  in  which  to  perfect  preliminary  arrange- 
ments. Here  business  of  importance  was  entered 
upon,  and  the  eloquent  William  Howard  Day,  M.  A., 


IN  THE  FIELD.  183 

was  chosen  to  arrange  the  military  policy  of  the  under- 
ground railroad  relative  to  the  slave  enlistment. 

Mr.  Day,  in  obedience  to  instructions  of  the  plans  laid 
down,  and  in  anticipation  of  some  appointment,  such 
as  his  splendid  talents  entitled  him  to,  performed  the 
task  with  ability  and  earnestness.  There  were  others 
among  the  leading  colored  men  who  showed  their  ap- 
preciation of  this  movement;  among  them  the  learned 
Rev.  J.  W.  C.  Pennington,  D.  D.,  as  the  following 
extract  from  his  letter,  dated  March  29,  1863,  will 
show :  — 

"Major:  Finding  that  our  views  so  nearly  harmo- 
nize in  reference  to  arming  the  slaves,  I  will  give  you 
one  of  the  illustrations  I  use  in  my  lecture  on  the 
duty  of  interposing  our  efforts  to  prevent  the  rebels 
from  consummating  the  act:  'We  have  noticed  by 
their  own  papers  that  the  rebel  authorities  have  many 
of  their  great  meetings  in  the  African  church  in  Rich- 
mond. It  was  there  that  Benjamin,  the  rebel  secretary 
of  state,  first  publicly  announced  the  plan  of  arming 
the  slaves.  Did  the  pastor  of  that  colored  church  and 
his  congregation  have  the  privilege  of  taking  part  in 
that  meeting?  Not  a  bit  of  it.  Did  they  have  the 
privilege  of  holding  a  meeting  on  the  subject  them- 
selves in  their  own  place  of  worship  ?  No. 

"'What  was  the  object  of  the  rebels  in  holding  their 
great  meetings  in  the  African  church?  Was  it  because 
it  is  one  of  the  largest  buildings  in  the  city?  No,  they 
had  another  object.  That  was,  to  suppress  any  Union 
feelings  that  exist  among  the  hundreds  of  slaves  and 
free  people  of  color  ivho  compose  that  congregation, 
and  to  palm  off  the  lie  to  the  world  that  they  are 


184  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

friendly  to  the  colored  people,  and  that  those  people  are 
acting  freely  with  them. 

"'Look  at  the  devilish  impudence  of  this  scheme  of 
holding  meetings  in  the  African  church  !  It  is  to  drag 
the  slaves  and  colored  Christians  with  them  into  all 
the  wickedness  of  the  rebellion.  No\v,  it  is  asked,  Why 
we  do  not  hear  a  voice  from  the  pastor  of  that  church 
and  his  people?  The  answer  is  obvious.  They  are 
prevented  by  the  FORCE  of  CIRCUMSTANCES  from  speak- 
ing a  word. 

"'If  the  Son  of  God  should  enter  that  house,  as  he 
did  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  (Mark  xi.  15,  16),  and 
thus  give  that  congregation  the  right  of  free  speech, 
you  would  soon  hear  a  voice  going  out  from  that  church, 
that  would  reach  every  slave  in  the  South,  telling  them 
which  way  to  fight.  And  that  church  will  speak  as 
soon  as  Grant  takes  Richmond !  And  who  does  not 
long  for  the  day  when  that,  the  largest  colored  church 
in  the  United  States  shall  be  free?  Who  would  not 
aid  in  that  great  forward  movement  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  that  will  result  in  clearing  Richmond  ? 
But  in  this  state  of  facts  as  to  that  church,  we  have  pre- 
cisely the  position  of  the  200,000  slaves  whom  the 
rebels  are  about  to  arm  against  us ! 

"'Let  us  not  forget  what  slavery  is.  It  is  based 
upon  the  assumption,  first,  that  the  slave  has  no  will 
of  his  own  ;  second,  that  his  sole  business  is  to  obey 
orders.  Hence  they  will  be  put  into  the  rebel  army  as 
slaves,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and  substantially  un- 
der slave  discipline ;  they  will  be  surrounded  by  cir- 
cumstances which  will  make  it  far  more  difficult  for 
them  to  escape  than  many  think;  and  of  course,  for 


IN  THE  FIELD.  185 

the  time  being,  they  would  be  COMPELLED  to  do  us 
untold  injury.  What,  then,  is  our  duty  ?  Our  duty  is 
to  anticipate  the  action  of  the  rebels  —  organize,  plan, 
and  go  forward,  and  settle  the  case  for  our  brethren. 
We  have  no  right  to  stand  still,  and  presume  that  they 
will,  when  armed,  turn  at  once  on  our  side.  And  it  is 
cruel  to  prejudge  them  in  the  matter.  Our  duty  is  to 
carry  out  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Proclamation  of 
Freedom.  It  would  be  an  awful  state  of  things  to 
see  the  200,000  Union  colored  soldiers  confronted  by 
200,000  of  our  own  race,  under  the  rebel  banner !  .  .  . 
No,  this  must  not  be.  It  shall  not  be.  It  cannot  be 
if  we  do  our  duty.  That  is,  to  go  to  our  brethren,  and 
tell  them  what  to  do.' " 

A  romantic  incident  is  related  in  connection  with  the 
the  Cleveland  council.  As  Delany  concluded,  a  moment 
of  intense  interest  and  silence  followed,  and  suddenly  an 
interesting  girl  of  some  fourteen  years  sprang  to  her 
feet,  and  rushed  up  to  the  platform  where  he  stood, 
gently  resting  her  hand  upon  his  arm,  and  anxiously 
looking  up  into  his  face,  exclaimed,  "  O,  Major  Delany, 
I  ask  one  favor  of  you :  will  you  spare  my  grandfather 
when  you  reach  Charleston  ?  "  Giving  the  name  of  her 
grandfather  in  the  same  excited  breath,  she  continued. 
"  Spare  him  and  grandma !  There  sits  my  ma :  for  her 
sake,  if  not  mine,  spare  my  dear  grandpa's  family." 

He  strove  to  calm  her  anxiety,  assuring  her  of  the 
security  of  her  grandfather's  family,  even  if  the  genuine 
Schemmelfening  had  not  already  had  the  city.  His 
mission  was  not  with  fire  and  sword  for  indiscriminate 
slaughter,  but  rather  to  guide  his  brethren  to  liberty. 

On  his  arrival  in   Charleston,  the   honored  grand- 


186  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

parents,  unconscious  of  this  incident,  were  among  the 
earliest  callers  to  give  him  welcome,  and  to  offer  him 
the  generous  civilities  of  their  family ;  and  these 
were  ever  after  numbered  among  his  most  esteemed 
friends. 

In  expectation  of  a  continuance  of  the  war,  he  writes, 
"  I  was  anxious  to  reach  my  destination,  organize  the 
black  army,  and  see  that  elegant  mulatto  gentleman  as 
field  officer,  hear  his  rich,  deep-toned  voice  as  he  rode 
along  the  lines,  giving  command,  or  shouting  in  the 
deadly  conflict,  rallying  the  troops  on  to  victory.  Such 
a  sight  I  desired  to  see  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the 
Union.  For  William  Howard  Day,  unobstrusive  as 
he  appears,  is  a  brave,  determined  man :  once  aroused, 
he  is  as  a  panther,  that  knows  no  fear.  But  now  that 
the  war  is  ended,  his  aid  in  the  battle-field  will  not  be 
required.  And  the  Union  will  be  safe  if  reestablished 
on  the  basis  of  righteousness,  truth,  and  justice." 

Leaving  New  York,  and  having  secured  the  ablest 
workers  with  whom  to  begin  the  great  mission  intrust- 
ed to  him,  he  arrived  at  Hilton  Head,  and  in  the  same 
afternoon  at  Beaufort. 

This  beautiful  little  town,  facing  a  bay  of  equal 
beauty,  but  of  tortuous  winding,  never  gave  promise 
of  rivalling  or  imitating  the  cities  of  Charleston  and 
Savannah  on  either  side  in  commercial  greatness.  In 
fact,  its  population  was  limited  almost  exclusively  to  the 
planters  of  the  adjoining  islands  and  their  slaves,  a  few 
free  colored  families,  and  a  less  number  of  poor  whites. 
The  salubrity  of  the  climate  enhanced  its  attractions, 
and  made  it  desirable  as  the  summer  residence  of  many 
of  the  wealthy  magnates.  The  town  was  abandoned 


Ix  THE  FIELD.  187 

by  the  entire  white  population  at  the  approach  of  the 
naval  force.  Here  were  the  headquarters  of  Brevet 
Major  General  Saxton,  at  which  Maj or  Delany  reported 
himself  for  duty,  immediately  on  his  arrival.  Some 
time  afterwards,  speaking  of  the  noble  general  who 
led,  by  sealed  orders,  the  first  campaign  sent  forth  to 
proclaim  emancipation,  he  said  that  in  his  frequent 
intercourse  with  him  there,  he  was  soon  convinced  that 
the  friends  of  his  race  were  not  confined  to  the  execu- 
tive department  at  Washington.  This  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  general  opinion  uttered  by  him ;  for 
among  the  colored  people  and  poor  whites  of  South 
Carolina,  General  Rufus  Saxton  stood  as  the  beloved 
friend  and  benefactor,  and  esteemed  among  his  brother 
officers  generally  as  a  gentleman  and  soldier. 

At  the  post,  while  every  officer  rode  writh  a  black 
orderly,  General  Saxton's  orderly  was  white! 

The  post  was  in  active  preparation  for  the  flag  rais- 
ing at  Sumter.  And  on  the  Saturday  previous  to  the 
memorable  19th  of  April,  the  general  and  staff,  Major 
Delany  accompanying  the  party,  sailed  for  Charleston. 

Prior  to  leaving  Beaufort  he  received  the  following 
order : — 

HEAD  QRS.  SUPT.  RECRUITMENT  AND  ORGANIZATION  •) 
COLORED  TROOPS,  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SOUTH, 

BEAUFORT,  S.  C.,  April  5,  1865.  ) 
Special  Orders.     No.  7. 

I.  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  United  States  Colored  Troops,  in  ac- 
cordance with  orders  received  from  the  War  Department,  will 
proceed  without  delay  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  reporting  in  person  to 
Lieutenant  Colonel  R.  P.  Hutchins,  94th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 


188  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

try,  Recruiting  Officer  at  that  post,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in 
the  recruitment  of  troops. 

II.  Major  Delany  will  visit  the  freedmen  of  Charleston  and  vi- 
cinity, and  urge  them  to  enlist  in  the  military  service  of  the 
United  States,  reporting  by  letter  from  time  to  time  to  these 
headquarters  the  result  of  his  labors. 

By  order  of        Brevet  Major  General  R.  SAXTON, 

Gen.  Supt.  Red.  $  0.  C.  P.  D.  S. 
STUART  M.  TAYLOR,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  U.  S.  C.  T. 


AT  CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.        189 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

AT  CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER. 


TUiE  excitement  attending  the  scenes  of  the  evacu- 
ation of  the  city  and  its  occupation  by  the  Union 
forces  was  scarcely  lulled,  when  it  rose  again  on  the  ar- 
rival of  the  "  black  major,"  to  whom  the  rumor  pre- 
ceding his  advent  had  given  the  rank  of  Major 
General. 

Arriving  in  the  city  on  the  Sabbath,  when  most  of 
the  people  were  gathered  at  the  various  places  of  wor- 
ship, the  news  soon  became  noised  about.  And  from 
the  early  forenoon  until  long  after  nightfall,  a  continu- 
ous stream  of  visitors  poured  in  upon  him,  eager  to  pay 
their  respects  to  him.  These  composed  the  colored 
residents  of  both  sexes,  representing  every  age  and  con- 
dition; nor  did  this  cease  when  their  curiosity  became 
satisfied,  but  grew  Avith  their  acquaintance  and  increased 
with  time.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  the  population  of 
the  once  proud  city  was  limited,  consisting  only  of  a  few 
regiments  of  Union  soldiers  on  duty,  the  former  free  peo- 
ple, the  new  freedmen,  —  a  greater  portion  of  the  latter 
being  driven  from  the  plantations  around  the  city,  and 
from  the  upper  portions  of  the  state,  —  and  a  few  white 
families  representing  the  old  element.  An  air  of 
mournful  desolation  seemed  to  brood  over  the  conquered 


190  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

city.     There  existed  no  signs  of  traffic,  except  in  the 
sutlers'  stores  of  the  regiments. 

Confederate  bonds  and  scrip  were  most  plenteous, 
and  but  a  small  amount  of  currency  was  in  circulation 
with  which  to  purchase  the  common  necessaries  of  life. 
For  this  cause  thousands  were  thrown  upon  the  charity 
of  the  government  for  daily  subsistence.  Nor  was  it  con- 
fined to  the  colored  people ;  it  was  no  uncommon  sight 
to  meet  daily  in  the  streets  many  of  the  former  enemies 
of  the  government,  loaded  writh  its  injustice  (!)  to  them 
in  the  form  of  a  huge  basket  of  subsistence  received 
from  the  quartermaster's  department,  and  in  many  in- 
stances assisted  by  some  former  chattel,  who  in  several 
known  cases,  afterwards,  with  true  negro  generosity, 
divided  their  own  portion  with  them.  Such  was  their 
position  after  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  Never  be- 
fore in  the  history  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  were 
there  such  manifestations  of  genuine  charity  and  for- 
bearance towards  an  unscrupulous  and  implacable  fqe, 
as  indicated  by  the  actions  of  government.  "I  was 
hungry  and  ye  gave  me  meat,  naked  and  ye  clothed 
me,"  were  literally  proven  by  these  recipients  of  its 
immense  charities.  This  gave  promise  of  more  con- 
verts than  the  sword.  While  the  great  concourse  of 
people,  gathered  for  rations  at  different  places,  attracted 
thither  the  curious  visitor,  he  would  turn  from  this  to 
the  many  evidences  of  the  unerring  precision  of  the  bat- 
teries of  Morris  Island,  wrhich  met  his  gaze  on  every 
hand,  suggestive  of  the  tales  of  horror,  and  in  many 
instances  of  retributive  justice,  through  which  they 
had  so  recently  passed.  Much  property  was  destroyed 
and  but  few  lives  during  the  siege. 


AT  CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.         191 

There  were  incidents  related  of  marvellous  escapes 
from  the  reach  of  these"  shells,  and  also  deaths  of  a  most 
appalling  character  on  being  overtaken  by  them,  —  the 
greater  portion  of  the  latter  being  colored  persons, 
the  innocent  sharing  a  worse  fate  than  the  guilty. 

One  case  of  sad  interest  happened  at  midnight,  while 
the  siege  was  at  its  height,  occurring  in  a  family  repre- 
senting the  wealth,  culture,  and  refinement  of  the  re- 
spectable colored  citizens  of  the  city.  The  father  of 
this  family,  a  man  of  great  mechanical  genius,  accumu- 
lated considerable  property  and  established  for  him- 
self a  well-earned  reputation  as  a  skilful  machinist 
throughout  the  state.  They  were  aroused  one  night 
by  the  noise  which  usually  precedes  the  near  approach 
of  a  shell,  which  was  seen  by  a  member  of  the  family 
to  fall  within  a  few  feet  of  the  house,  who,  occupying 
the  third  story  of  the  building,  attempted  to  escape 
below  with  his  Wife ;  but  before  either  could  escape  from 
the  room,  a  second  report  was  heard,  followed  almost  im- 
mediately by  the  appearance  of  a  shell  entering  thereof 
above  them,  crashing  through  the  ceilings,  which,  in 
covering  the  latter  with  its  debris,  preserved  her  life,  the 
fragments  scattering,  one  of  the  pieces  falling  into  the 
front  room  beneath,  only  disfiguring  a  bedstead,  but  not 
injuring  its  occupants,  while  another  piece,  more  remorse- 
less, taking  another  direction,  entered  the  back  room, 
burying  itself  in  the  side  of  an  interesting  boy  of  twelve 
years,  the  little  grandson  of  the  old  gentleman.  The 
child,  startled  from  its  sleep  by  the  double  shock  of  the 
explosion  and  terrible  wound,  rushed  from  the  room, 
exclaiming,  in  his  agony,  "Mother!  mother!'  I  am 
killed!"  It  was  eleven  days  of  the  most  excruciating 


192  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

agony  before  the  angel  of  death  relieved  little  Weston 
McKenlay.  Never  did  Christianity  and  true  woman- 
hood beam  more  beauteously  than  at  the  moment  when 
the  mother  of  that  child,  relating  the  wild  confusion 
of  that  night,  laying  aside  her  own  personal  sorrow, 
said,  "It  was  God's  will  that  the  deliverance  of  the 
South  should  cost  us  all  something."  Major  Delany, 
in  speaking  of  this  class  of  Charlestonians,  as  well  as 
the  colored  people  generally,  says,  "  Their  courtesy  and 
natural  kindness  I  have  never  seen  equalled,  while  in- 
stances of  their  humanity  to  the  Union  prisoners  at  the 
risk  of  their  own  lives,  speak  in  trumpet  tones  to  their 
credit,  of  which  the  country  is  already  cognizant."  On 
Tuesday  after  his  arrival,  an  immense  gathering  greeted 
him  at  Zion's  Church,  the  largest  in  the  city,  indescriba- 
ble in  enthusiasm  and  numbers.  In  the  church  were 
supposed  to  be  upwards  of  three  thousand,  while  the 
yard  and  street  leading  to  the  church  were  densely 
packed. 

The  resolutions  passed  on  this  memorable  occasion 
by  them  we  present  here,  embodying  a  testimony  of 
their  gratitude  for  their  signal  deliverance  from  a  con- 
flagration which  threatened  to  involve  them  in  a  gen- 
eral desolation,  and  of  their  patriotism,  setting  aside 
forever  the  error  that  the  sympathies  of  the  free  col- 
ored citizens  were  enlisted  on  the  side  of  their  ene- 
mies, and  not  that  of  the  Union,  for  many  they  were  who 
participated  in  this  meeting.  We  reproduce  it  also  as 
expressive  of  the  sentiments  gushing  from  the  hearts 
of  a  people  for  the  first  time  in  their  history  holding  a 
political  meeting  on  the  soil  of  Carolina,  with  open 
doors,  with  none  to  condemn  it  as  "an  unlawful  as- 
semblage," amenable  to  law  for  the  act. 


AT  CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.         193 

Brevet  Major  General  Saxton,  and  other  distinguished 
officers  were  present,  and  freely  took  part  in  the 
proceedings.  Here  Major  Delany,  for  the  first  time, 
introduced  the  subject  foremost  in  his  mind,  that  of 
raising  an  arraee  d'Afrique,  which  subject  met  the  en- 
thusiastic approval  of  his  auditors,  and  the  movement 
for  its  organization  soon  became  popular. 

The  eventful  14th  of  April,  which  was  so  eagerly 
awaited,  came,  and  the  earliest  beams  of  the  morning 
found  the  "  City  of  the  Sea"  alive  with  preparations  for 
the  brilliant  scene  at  Sumter,  unconscious  of  its  fearful 
tragic  close  at  Washington.  The  city  was  almost  de- 
serted during  the  ceremony  in  the  harbor,  for  all  were 
anxious  to  witness  the  flag  in  its  accustomed  place, 
with  its  higher,  truer  symbol,  placed  there  by  the  same 
hands  which  were  once  compelled  to  lower  it  to  a  ju- 
bilant but  now  conquered  foe,  maddened  prior  to  their 
destruction.  As  the  old  silken  bunting  winged  itself  to 
its  long-deserted  staff,  thousands  of  shouts,  and  prayers 
fervent  and  deep,  accompanying,  greeted  its  reappear- 
ance. 

Major  Delany  embarked  to  witness  the  ceremony 
on  the  historical  steamer  Planter,  with  its  gallant  com- 
mander, Robert  Small,  whose  deeds  will  live  in  song 
and  story,  whose  unparalleled  feat  and  heroic  courage 
in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  under  the  bristling  guns 
of  rebel  batteries,  bearing  comparison  with  the  proud- 
est record  of  our  war,  will  remain,  commemorative  of 
negro  strategy  and  valor. 

On  the  quarter-deck  of  the  steamer  the  major  re- 
mained an  interested  witness.  Beside  him  stood  one, 
whose  father,  believing  and  loving  the  doctrine  that  all 
13 


194  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  K.  DELANY. 

men  were  born  free  and  equal,  and  within  sight  of  the 
emblem  of  freedom  as  it  floated  from  the  battlements  of 
Sumter,  dared  to  aim  a  blow  by  which  to  free  his  race. 
Betrayed  before  his  plans  were  matured,  the  scaffold 
gave  to  Denmark  Yesey  and  his  twenty-two  slave-hero 
compatriots  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1822,  the 
like  answer  which  Charlestown,  Virginia,  gave  John 
Brown  in  1859. 

Virginia  was  free,  and  black  soldiers  were  now  quar- 
tered in  the  citadel  of  Charleston,  and  garrisoned  Fort 
Sumter.  The  martyred  reformers  had  not  died  in  vain. 

The  excitement  attending  the  scene  continued  dur- 
ing the  week,  occasioned  -by  the  presence  of  the  distin- 
guished company  who  came  to  participate  in  the  res- 
toration of  the  flag  at  Fort  Sumter.  There  were  seen 
the  veterans  of  the  anti-slavery  cause,  the  inspired  and 
dauntless  apostle  of  liberty,  William  Lloyd  Garrison, 
the  time-honored  Joshua  Leavitt,  the  eloquent  George 
Thompson  of  England  ;  then  the  glorious  young  ed- 
itor of  the  Independent,  the  able  and  accomplished 
orator  of  the  day,  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Judge 
Kellogg,  and  others,  all  anxious  to  tell  the  truths  of  free- 
dom to  these  hungry  souls.  The  colored  schools  paraded 
the  streets  to  honor  these  visitors,  flanked  by  thousands 
of  adults,  marshalled  by  their  superintendent  and  assist- 
ants, and  led  by  stirring  bands  discoursing  martial 
music,  the  citadel  square  densely  crowded,  and  the 
great  Zion's  Church  packed  to  overflowing.  There  were 
speakers  on  the  stands  erected  on  the  square  —  speakers 
at  the  church.  There  were  shouts  for  liberty  and  for 
the  Union,  shouts  for  their  great  liberator,  shouts  for 
the  army,  rousing  cheers  for  the  speakers,  for  their 


AT  CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.         195 

loved  General  Saxton,  and  for  the  "  black  major ;  "  the 
people  swayed  to  and  fro  like  a  rolling  sea. 

On  Saturday  morning,  when  the  visitors  left,  an  im- 
mense concourse  followed  to  the  wharf;  the  steamer 
seemed  loaded  with  floral  gifts,  the  graceful  ovation  of 
the  colored  people  to  their  friends.  Cheer  after  cheer 
resounded  for  a  parting  word  from  them.  They  were 
answered  by  Messrs.  Thompson  and  Tilton ;  at  last 
came  forth  the  immortal  Garrison  in  answer  to  an  irre- 
sistible call. 

Major  Delany,  describing  this  parting  scene  at  the 
dock,  says,  "  The  mind  was  forcibly  carried  back  to 
the  days  of  the  young  and  ardent  advocate  of  emanci- 
pation, incarcerated  in  a  Baltimore  prison,  peering 
through  the  gates  and  bars,  hurling  defiance  at  his  cow- 
ardly opponents,  exclaiming, '  No  difficulty,  no  dangers, 
shall  deter  me :  at  the  East  or  at  the  West,  at  the 
North  or  at  the  South,  wherever  Providence  may  call 
me,  my  voice  shall  be  heard  in  behalf  of  the  perishing 
slave,  and  against  the  claims  of  his  oppressors.'  Again 
did  the  mind  revert  to  him  in  after  years,  as  a  man  of 
high  integrity  in  the  city  of  Boston,  led  as  a  beast  to 
the  slaughter,  with  the  lyncher's  rope  around  his  neck, 
only  escaping  death  by  imprisonment.  When  exhaust- 
ed, he  fell  to  the  floor,  exclaiming,  '  Never  was  man 
so  glad  to  get  into  prison  before ! '  And  in  this  his 
last  speech  he  was  more  sublime  than  ever.  There 
he  stood  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  surrounded  by 
the  emancipated  slave,  giving  his  last  anti-slavery 
advice :  *— 

"  'And  now,  my  friends,  I  bid  you  farewell.  I  have 
always  advocated  non-resistance ;  but  this  much  I  say 


196  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

to  you,  Come  what  will  never  do  you  submit  again  to 
slavery/  Do  anything;  die  first !  J3ut  dorft  sub- 
mit again  to  them  —  never  again  be  slaves.  Farewell. 

"  When  the  steamer  gracefully  glided  from  the  pier, 
the  music  struck  up  in  stirring  strains,  shouts  rent  the 
air,  and  the  masses,  after  gazing  with  tearful  eyes,  com- 
menced slowly  retracing  their  steps  homeward.  Never 
can  I  forget  the  scenes  transpiring  in  this  eventful 
week  of  my  arrival  at  Charleston,  nor  on  different  sim- 
ilar occasions  during  my  official  station  there." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  colored  citizens  of  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  held  at  Zion  Presbyterian  Church, 
March  29,  1865,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted :  — 

Whereas  it  is  fitting  that  an  expression  should  be  given  to  the 
sentiments  of  deep-seated  gratitude  that  pervade  our  breasts, 
be  it 

Resolved,  1.  That  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the  army  of  the 
United  States  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  on  the  18th  of  February, 
18G5,  our  city  was  saved  from  a  vast  conflagration,  our  houses 
from  devastation,  and  our  persons  from  those  indignities  that 
they  would  have  been  subjected  to. 

Resolved,  2.  That  our  thanks  are  due,  and  are  hereby  freely 
tendered,  to  the  district  commander,  Brigadier  General  Hatch, 
and  through  him  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  under  his  command, 
for  the  protection  that  they  have  so  readily  and  so  impartially 
bestowed  since  their  occupation  of  this  city. 

Resolved,  3.  That  to  Admiral  Dahlgren,  United  States  Navy, 
we  do  hereby  return  our  most  sincere  thanks  for  the  noble  man- 
ner in  which  he  cared  for  and  administered  to  the  wants  of  our 
people  at  Georgetown,  South  Carolina ;  and  be  he  assured  that 
the  same  shall  ever  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  us. 

Resolved,  4.  That  to  his  Excellency,  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  Abraham  Lincoln,  we  return  our  most  sincere 


AT  CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.         197 

thanks  and  never-dying  gratitude  for  the  noble  and  patriotic 
manner  in  which  he  promulgated  the  doctrines  of  republicanism, 
and  for  his  consistency  in  not  only  promising,  but  invariably 
conforming  his  actions  thereto  ;  and  we  shall  ever  be  pleased  to 
acknowledge  and  hail  him  as  the  champion  of  the  rights  of  free- 
men. 

Resolved,  5.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted 
to  Brigadier  General  Hatch,  Admiral  Dahlgren,  and  his  Excel- 
lency, the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  that  they  be  pub- 
lished in  the  Charleston  Courier. 

MOSES  B.  CAMPLIN,  Chairman. 

EGBERT  C.  DE  LARGE,  Secretary. 

The  following  we  quote  from  him  as  descriptive  of 
his  impressions  on  his  arrival  at  Charleston  :  — 

"I  entered  the  city,  which,  from  earliest  childhood 
and  through  life,  I  had  learned  to  contemplate  with 
feelings  of  the  utmost  abhorrence  —  a  place  of  the 
most  insuiferable  assumption  and  cruelty  to  the  blacks ; 
where  the  sound  of  the  lash  at  the  whipping-post, 
and  the  hammer  of  the  auctioneer,  were  coordinate 
sounds  in  thrilling  harmony ;  that  place  which  had  ever 
been  closed  against  liberty  by  an  arrogantly  assump- 
tuous  despotism,  such  as  well  might  have  vied  with  the 
infamous  King  of  Dahomey;  the  place  from  which 
had  been  expelled  the  envoy  of  Massachusetts,  for  dar- 
ing to  present  the  claims  of  the  commonwealth  in 
behalf  of  her  free  citizens,  and  into  which,  but  a  few 
days  before,  had  proudly  entered  in  triumph  the  gallant 
Schemmelfening,  leading  with  wild  shouts  the  Massa- 
chusetts Fifty-fourth  Regiment,  composed  of  some  of 
the  best  blood  and  finest  youths  of  the  colored  citizens 
of  the  Union.  For  a  moment  I  paused  —  then,  im- 
pelled by  the  impnlse  of  my  mission,  I  found  myself 


198  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

dashing  on  in  unmeasured  strides  through  the  city,  as 
if  under  a  forced  march  to  attack  the  already  crushed 
and  fallen  enemy.  Again  I  halted  to  look  upon  the 
shattered  walls  of  the  once  stately  but  now  deserted 
edifices  of  the  proud  and  supercilious  occupants.  A 
doomed  city  it  appeared  to  be,  with  few,  or  none  but 
soldiers  and  the  colored  inhabitants.  The  haughty 
Carolinians,  who  believed  their  state  an  empire,  this 
city  incomparable,  and  themselves  invincible,  had  fled 
in  dismay  and  consternation  at  the  approach  of  their 
conquerors,  leaving  the  metropolis  to  its  fate.  And  but 
for  the  vigilance  and  fidelity  of  the  colored  firemen, 
and  other  colored  inhabitants,  there  would  have  been 
nothing  left  but  a  smouldering  plain  of  ruins  in  the 
place  where  Charleston  once  stood,  from  the  firebrands 
in  the  hands  of  the  flying  whites.  Reaching  the  upper 
district,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  citadel,  I  remained 
at  the  private  residence  of  one  of  the  most  respectable 
colored  citizens  (free  before  the  war),  until  quarters 
suitable  could  be  secured.  Whatever  impressions  may 
have  previously  been  entertained  concerning  the  free 
colored  people  of  Charleston,  their  manifestation  from 
my  advent  till  my  departure,  gave  evidence  of  their  pride 
in  identity  and  appreciation  of  race  that  equal  in 
extent  the  proudest  Caucasian." 

Many  were  the  scenes  of  interest  there  related,  on 
the  entry  of  the  troops  into  Charleston,  some  of  a  most 
thrilling  character.  It  was  a  memorable  day  to  the 
enslaved.  An  incident  is  related  —  that  a  soldier, 
mounted  on  a  mule,  dashed  up  Meeting  Street,  at  the 
head  of  the  advancing  column.,  bearing  in  his  hand,  as 


AT  CHARLESTON  AND  FORT  SUMTER.         199 

he  rode,  a  white  flag,  upon  which  was  inscribed,  in  large 
black  letters,  LIBERTY  !  and  loudly  proclaiming  it  as 
he  went.  An  old  woman,  who  the  night  before  had 
lain  down  a  slave,  and  even  on  that  morning  was  un- 
certain of  her  master's  movements,  whether  or  not  she 
should  be  carried  into  the  interior  of  the  state,  as  had 
been  proposed  with  the  evacuation,  now  heard  the 
shouts  of  people  and  the  cry  of  liberty  reechoed  by 
hundreds  of  voices.  In  the  deep  gratitude  of  her  heart 
to  God,  she  was  seen  to  rush  with  outstretched  arms,  as 
if  to  clasp  this  herald  of  freedom.  The  soldier  being 
in  the  saddle,  "and  consequently  beyond  her  reach,  un- 
consciously she  hugged  the  mule  around  the  neck, 
shouting,  "Thank  God !  thank  God !  "  So  fraught  with 
deep  emotion  were  the  bystanders  at  this  scene,  that  it 
drew  tears  from  the  eyes  of  many,  instead  of  creating 
merriment,  as  it  would  have  done  under  different  cir- 
cumstances. 

A  lady,  in  rehearsing  to  another  this  scene  and  others 
of  that  day,  said,  "  O,  had  you  been  here,  you  would 
have  felt  like  embracing  something  yourself,  had  it 
been  but  to  grasp  a  flag-staff,  or  touch  the  drapery  of 
the  floating  colors." 


200  LIFE  OP  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

ARMEE  D'AFRIQUE. 

TMMEDIATELY  after  the  restoration  of  the  flag, 
JL  active  duty  was  resumed  by  the  military  at  Charles- 
ton, and  none  more  heartily  rejoiced  at  the  prospect 
of  beginning  his  work  than  did  Major  Delany.  With- 
out loss  of  time,  independent  quarters  were  assigned 
him,  equal  to  those  of  other  officers,  this  being  by  spe- 
cial orders  from  the  war  department;  it  was  also 
ordered  that  he  should  report  directly  to  Brevet  Major 
General  Saxton,  and  detailed  subordinates  were  placed 
at  his  command. 

The  residence  assigned  him  was  elegant  and  com- 
modious ;  but  being  an  intolerable  sight  to  the  owner,  a 
plea  of  loyalty  was  soon  raised,  which  induced  its  re- 
linquishment,  and  quarters  equally  as  comfortable  were 
secured  at  the  south-east  corner  of  Calhoun  and  St. 
Philip  Streets.  Here  were  to  be  seen  daily,  in  beauti- 
ful contrast  to  bayonets  and  the  circumstance  of  war, 
and  in  graceful  profusion,  at  Major  Delany's  office,  the 
choicest  bouquets  and  other  personal  compliments  of 
like  delicacy  indicative  of  the  high  respect  in  which 
he  was  held. 

Before  his  arrival,  the  102d  United  States  Colored 
Troops  had  been  completed,  and  the  103d  had  just  been 


ARMEE  D'AFKIQUE.  201 

commenced,  of  which  regiment,  according  to  the  spirit 
of  the  order  of  the  war  department,  he  was  entitled 
to  the  major's  command;  but  by  request  of  his  gen- 
eral he  waived  his  right  to  an  officer  to  whom  the 
position  had  been  promised  previous  to  his  arrival, 
though  he  had  aided  in  its  organization,  and  soon  be- 
gan to  recruit  his  own. 

As  a  field  officer  at  the  head  of  such  a  service,  it  is 
evident  that  as  many  of  lower  grade  as  the  duties  of 
his  command  required  and  needed,  could  be  secured, 
agreeable  to  regulations.  In  order  to  avoid  innova- 
tions and  clashings,  he  chose  instead  a  few  non-com- 
missioned officers  from  the  54th  and  55th  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  for  whom  he  made  requisition.  Sergeant 
Frederick  Johnson,  of  the  54th,  an  excellent  penman 
and  clerk,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  books,  while 
Sergeant  Major  Abraham  Shadd,  from  the  55th  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers,  a  gentleman  of  fine  attainments, 
besides  excellent  military  capability,  was  appointed 
acting  captain  to  command  recruits,  and  his  own  son, 
private  Toussaint  L.  Delany,  of  the  54th  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  as  acting  lieutenant,  to  act  in  conjunction 
with  acting  Captain  Shadd. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  R.  P.  Hutchins,  of  the  94th  Ohio 
Volunteers,  had  been  detailed  as  assistant  superintend- 
ent of  the  recruiting  and  organizing  of  colored  troops 
to  General  Saxton.  Of  him  Major  Delany  says,  "  I 
found  Lieutenant  Colonel  Hutchins  an  accomplished 
young  gentleman,  well  adapted  to  his  position,  with  a 
staff  of  fine  young  officers,  among  whom  was  Captain 
Spencer,  of  Sherman's  army.  The  104th  was  now  rap- 
idly increasing,  and  would  soon  require  its  complement 


202  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

of  officers.     The  following  order  was  then  necessary 
to  its  accomplishment :  — 

HEADQUARTERS,  SUPERINTENDENT  RECRUITMENT^ 

AND  ORGANIZATION  COLORED  TROOPS,  I 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SOUTH,  i 

BEAUFORT,  S.  C.,  April  11,  1865.  J 

Special  Orders.     JVo.  13. 

II.  In  accordance  with  instructions  received  from  the  war 
department,  the  following  appointment  is  made  in  the  104th 
United  States  Colored  Troops ;  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  United 
States  Colored  Troops,  to  be  major,  and  to  report  to  Colonel 
Douglas  Frazar,  commanding  regiment. 

By  order  of      -     Brevet  Major  General  R.  SAXTON, 

Gen.  Supt.  Rec.  $  0.  C.  T.,  D.  S. 
STUART  M.  TAYLOR,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  U.  S.  C.  T. 


THE  NATIONAL  CALAMITY.  203 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
THE  NATIONAL  CALAMITY. 

NONE  in  all  the  land  can  forget  when  the  tele- 
graph flashed  the  fearful  news  upon  us.  But  if 
there  was  sorrow  felt  by  one  class  more  than  another, 
we  must  look  to  the  freedmen  of  the  South,  to  whom 
the  name  of  Lincoln  and  the  government  meant  one 
and  the  same  —  all  justice  and  goodness. 

On  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  April  (communica- 
tions being  so  irregular  then),  the  beauty  of  the  morn- 
ing and  the  surroundings  seeming  to  charm  the  senses, 
happiness  came  upon  many  a  hitherto  scowling  face, 
while  a  sense  of  returning  forgiveness  seemed  to  hover 
above  the  rebellious  city,  and  the  once  unfrequented 
streets  began  to  give  evidence  of  returning  life.  The 
major  and  a  friend  were  in  King  Street,  when  they  were 
met  by  a  captain,  who,  stepping  from  his  buggy  to  the 
sidewalk,  entered  into  a  conversation :  in  the  midst  of 
it  they  were  interrupted  by  a  soldier,  breathlessly  run- 
ning towards  them,  holding  in  his  hand  a  paper,  ex- 
claiming, "  My  God !  President  Lincoln  is  assas- 
sinated ! " 

"  No !  no !  it  can't  be  so  !  "  replied  the  captain. 

"  Some  hoax,"  interposed  the  major,  on  seeing  the 
heading  of  the  New  York  Herald  ;  but  the  trembling 


204  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

hand  of  the  rough  soldier  pointed  out  the  telegram, 
while  tears  coursed  down  his  cheeks :  before  the  dark 
message  they  stood  for  a  time,  gazing  one  upon  the 
other  in  mute  agony,  without  power  to  express  the 
thoughts  uppermost  in  their  mind,  while  vengeance 
seemed  written  in  the  quivering  of  every  feature. 

Any  description,  however  graphic,  would  fail  to  con- 
vey an  idea  of  the  feelings  produced,  as  the  fatal  tid- 
ings circulated.  If  every  man  of  secession  proclivities 
had  been  put  to  the  sword,  every  house  belonging  to  such 
burnt  to  the  ground,  the  Unionists  would  hardly  have 
interfered,  and  would  not  have  been  surprised.  The  only 
cause  for  wonderment  was,  that  there  was  not  a  scene 
of  fire  and  slaughter.  At  the  major's  quarters,  where, 
in  his  unfeigned  sorrow  he  had  sought  retirement,  he  was 
forced  to  show  himself  to  the  excited  people ;  for  while 
the  Unionists  generally  were  aroused  to  a  point  of 
doubtful  forbearance,  the  intense  grief,  excitement,  and 
anxiety  of  the  new  freedmen  knew  no  bounds.  The 
white  men  of  undefined  politics,  and  known  secession- 
ists, wisely  avoided  the  blacks,  or  kept  within  doors. 
The  avenging  torch  at  one  period  seemed  imminent,  but 
the  outstretched  hands  of  reason  spared  the  city  once 
more.  There  was  to  the  casual  observer  nothing 
extraordinary  in  the  outward  demonstration,  perhaps, 
but  a  strong  under-current  was  madly  coursing  along, 
threatening  destruction  to  every  opposing  barrier. 
Doubtless  but  for  the  presence  of  the  black  major, 
whom  they  sought  instantly,  and  whose  influence  over 
them  was  powerful,  there  would  have  been  a  most 
lamentable  state  of  confusion,  so  determined  were  they 
to  avenge  the  death  of  their  friend.  Some  of  these 


THE  NATIONAL  CALAMITY.  205 

were  even  actuated  by  fears  of  being  returned  to 
slavery  in  consequence  of  his  death. 

An  order  was  issued  by  the  military  for  public 
mourning.  The  famous  Zion's  Church  was  the  most 
tastefully  draped,  remaining  thus  for  one  year,  the 
military  using  whatever  they  could  command  in  the 
tradeless  city,  the  secessionist  such  as  was  required  by 
law,  while  the  mourning  of  the  new  freedmen  pre- 
sented an  incongruity  in  many  instances  extremely 
touching.  Flags  made  of  black  cloth,  were  nailed 
against  the  dwelling-houses,  or  floated  from  their 
roofs.  Their  black  flags  were  intended  as  mourning, 
not  as  defiance. 

Major  Delany,  in  these  sad  days,  was  not  unem- 
ployed. Already  had  he  devised  some  tangible  and 
practical  evidence  by  which  the  colored  people  could 
demonstrate  their  appreciation  and  reverence  for  the 
memory  of  the  martyred  president.  The  following  is 
an  extract  from 'a  letter  to  the  Anglo-African  of  April 
20.  We  doubt  whether  any  plan  for  a  monument  was 
originated  previous  to  this. 

"A  calamity  such  as  the  world  never  before  wit- 
nessed —  a  calamity  the  most  heart-rending,  caused  by 
the  perpetration  of  a  deed  by  the  hands  of  a  wretch 
the  most  infamous  and  atrocious  —  a  calamity  as  humili- 
ating to  America  as  it  is  infamous  and  atrocious  —  has 
suddenly  brought  our  country  to  mourning  by  the  un- 
timely death  of  the  humane,  the  benevolent,  the  phil- 
anthropic, the  generous,  the  beloved,  the  able,  the  wise, 
great,  and  good  man,  the  President  of  the.  United 
States,  Abraham  Lincoln  the  Just.  In  his  fall  a 
mighty  chieftain  and  statesman  has  passed  away. 


206  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

God,  in  his  inscrutable  providence,  has  suffered  this, 
and  we  bow  with  meek  and  humble  resignation  to  his 
divine  will,  because  he  doeth  all  things  well.  God's 
will  be  done ! 

"  I  suggest  that,  as  a  just  and  appropriate  tribute  of 
respect  and  lasting  gratitude  from  the  colored  people 
of  the  United  States  to  the  memory  of  President  Lin- 
coln, the  Father  of  American  Liberty,  every  individual 
of  our  race  contribute  one  cent,  as  this  will  enable  each 
member  of  every  family  to  contribute,  parents  paying 
for  every  child,  allowing  all  who  are  able  to  subscribe 
any  sum  they  please  above  this,  to  such  national  mon- 
ument as  may  hereafter  be  decided  upon  by  the  Amer- 
ican people.  I  hope  it  may  be  in  Illinois,  near  his  own 
family  residence. 

"  This  penny  or  one  cent  contribution  would  amount 
to  the  handsome  sum  of  forty  thousand  ($40,000)  dol- 
lars, as  a  tribute  from  the  black  race  (I  use  the  generic 
term),  and  would  not  be  at  all  felt ;  and  I  am  sure  that 
so  far  as  the  South  is  concerned,  the  millions  of  freed- 
men  will  hasten  on  their  contributions." 

The  following  design  for  the  monument  he  proposed 
was  communicated  to  the  same  journal  a  month  later. 
He,  also,  through  the  same  medium,  suggested  that  a 
gold  medal  be  given  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  as  a  tribute  from 
the  colored  people  to  the  memory  of  her  noble  hus- 
band. He  still  hopes  that  the  suggestion  concerning 
the  medal  may  find  favor  among  the  colored  people, 
and  it  would  be  more  appropriate  if  it  could  be  exe- 
cuted by  a  colored  artist. 


THE  NATIONAL  CALAMITY.  207 


MONUMENT  TO  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

I  propose  for  the  National  Monument,  to  which  all  the  colored 
people  of  the  United  States  are  to  contribute  each  one  cent,  a 
design,  as  the  historic  representation  of  the  humble  offering  of 
our  people.  On  one  side  of  the  base  of  the  monument  (the  south 
side  for  many  reasons  would  be  the  most  appropriate,  it  being 
the  south  from  which  the  great  Queen  of  Ethiopia  came  with 
great  offerings  to  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  the  south  from  which 
the  Ethiopian  Ambassador  came  to  worship  at  Jerusalem,  as  well 
as  the  south  from  which  the  greatest  part  of  our  offerings  come 
to  contribute  to  this  testimonial)  shall  be  an  urn,  at  the  side  of 
which  shall  be  a  female  figure,  kneeling  on  the  right  knee,  the 
left  thigh  projecting  horizontally,  the  leg  perpendicular  to  the 
ground,  the  leg  and  thigh  forming  the  angle  of  a  square,  the 
body  erect,  but  little  inclined  over  the  urn,  the  face  with  eyes 
upturned  to  heaven,  with  distinct  tear-drops  passing  down  the 
face,  falling  into  the  urn,  which  is  represented  as  being  full ;  dis- 
tinct tear-drops  shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  represent  the  figures 
4,000,000  (four  million),  which  shall  be  emblematical  not  only  of 
the  number  of  contributors  to  the  monument,  but  the  number 
of  those  who  shed  tears  of  sorrow  for  the  great  and  good  deliv- 
erer of  their  race  from  bondage  in  the  United  States ;  the  arms 
and  hands  extended  —  the  whole  figure  to  represent  "Ethiopia 
stretching  forth  her  hands  unto  God."  A  drapery  is  to  cover  the' 
whole  figure,  thrown  back,  leaving  the  entire  arms  and  shoulders 
bare,  but  drawn  up  under  the  arms,  covering  the  breast  just  to 
the  verge  of  the  swell  below  the  neck,  falling  down  full  in 
front,  but  leaving  the  front  of  the  knee,  leg,  and  foot  fully  ex- 
posed. The  lower  part  of  the  drapery  should  be  so  arranged 
behind  as  just  to  expose  the  sole  of  the  right  foot  in  its  projection. 
The  urn  should  be  directly  in  front  of  the  female  figure,  so  as  to 
give  the  best  possible  effect  to,  or  view  of,  it.  This  figure  is 
neither  to  be  Grecian,  Caucasian,  nor  Anglo-Saxon,  Mongolian 
nor  Indian,  but  African  —  very  African  —  an  ideal  representative 
genius  of  the  race,  as  Europa,  Britannia,  America,  or  the  God- 
dess of  Liberty,  is  to  the  European  race. 


208  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Will  not  our  clever  mutual  friend,  Patrick  Reason,  of  New- 
York,  sketch  the  outlines  of  a  good  representation  of  this 
design?  This  is  to  be  prominently  carved  or  moulded  in  what- 
ever material  the  monument  is  erected  of.  Let  the  one-cent 
contribution  at  once  commence  everywhere  throughout  the 
United  States.  I  hope  the  Independent,  and  all  other  papers 
friendly,  especially  the  religious  and  weeklies,  will  copy  my 
article  published  in  the, Anglo-African  of  the  13th  of  May;  also 
this  article  on  the  design. 

In  behalf  of  this  great  nation, 

M.  E.  DELANY, 

Major  10«&  U.  S.  0.  T. 


CAMP  OF  INSTRUCTION.  209 


CHAPTER   XXV. 
CAMP  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

105th  Regiment  United  States  Colored  Troops 
was  now  ordered  to  be  raised,  and  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Hutchins  to  take  command.  This  was  de- 
signed to  form  the  basis  of  the  camp  of  instruction, 
with  the  colonel  as  commander.  This,  at  the  time, 
was  of  vast  importance  in  character,  interest,  and  pur- 
pose, as  well  as  great  in  the  object  of  its  establishment. 
The  importance  of  this  will  not  seem  to  be  overesti- 
mated, because  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  no  au- 
thentic action  of  the  military  had  yet  been  ordered  for 
the  avowed  object  of  emancipation. 

The  following  order  was  the  first  move  towards  the 
accomplishment  of  that  end,  worded  in  that  peculiar 
style  of  caution  which  distinguished  all  of  Major  Gen- 
eral Saxton's  orders,  when  not  definitely  directed  by 
the  war  department:  — 


ITMENT  -v 

)OPS,      r 

'H, 

J,  1865.  ) 


HEADQUARTERS  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  RECRUITMENT 
AND  ORGANIZATION  COLORED  TROOPS, 
DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SOUTH, 

BEAUFORT,  S.  C.,  May  3, 
Special  Order.     No.  19. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  R.  P.  Hutchins,  94th   Ohio   Volunteers, 
assistant  superintendent  of  recruiting,  Charleston,  S.  C.,  will  at 
once  commence  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  of  which  he  will 
14 


210  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

be  appointed  colonel,  and  to  be  known  as  the  105th  United  States 
Colored  Troops. 

The  men  will  be  recruited  as  rapidly  as  possible  at  Charleston, 
S.  C.,  and  the  camp  established  at  or  near  that  city. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Hut-chins  will  communicate  to  these  head- 
quarters the  names  of  such  officers  and  men  as  he  may  think 
competent  to  be  appointed  to  lieutenancies  in  his  regiment,  and 
the  necessary  orders  will  be  issued,  if  the  nominations  meet  with 
the  approval  of  the  general  superintendent. 

By  order  of  Brevet  Major  General  K.  SAXTON, 

General  Superintendent  of  Recruiting. 

STUART  M.  TAYLOR,  Asst.  Adjutant  General. 

The  order  for  the  camp  having  been  received,  the 
selection  of  ground  was  now  the  object  of  attention, 
resulting  in  the  choice  of  the  extensive  race-course, 
where  once  the  elite  of  the  city  were  wont  to  gather  to 
witness  the  races  under  the  auspices  of  the  South  Caro- 
lina Jockey  Club,  and  where  the  blood  of  some  of  her 
best  have  been  shed  in  accordance  with  the  "  code  of 
honor."  But  now  this  has  been  made  sacred  by  the 
sufferings,  death,  and  burial-place  of  the  Union  prison- 
ers, and  was  as  familiar  to  the  recruit  as  his  own  home ; 
for  had  he  not  been  there  braving  detection  and  death 
in  many  forms  to  bear  some  little  comfort,  time  and 
again  to  the  helpless  prisoners  ?  Had  they  not  entered 
even  the  frowning,  dingy  jail  while  the  shelling  of  the 
city  was  most  furious,  under  the  plea  of  selling  provis- 
ion to  the  imprisoned  Union  officers,  and  carried  rough 
plans  and  information  which  were  turned  to  account 
by  those  officers  ?  Therefore,  their  camp,  beside  the 
graves  of  the  Union  martyrs,  was  but  a  fitting  spot. 
To  hasten  the  accomplishment  of  this,  handbills,  the 


CAMP  OF  INSTRUCTION.  211 

first  to  call  authentically  for  recruits,  were  now  issued, 
carefully  constructed,  and  silent  regarding  all  but  two 
classes  of  officers ;  the  lieutenants  being  either  of  the 
recruits,  or  those  already  officers,  the  non-commissioned 
being  designated  from  the  recruits.  This,  Delany  says, 
was  "  like  beginning  in  the  right  direction,  and  contem- 
plating what  has  been  set  forth : "  — 


ATTENTION,   CHARLESTONIANS ! 

BALLY  ROUND  THE  FLAG! 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  April  28,  1865. 
To  the  Free  Colored  Men  of  Charleston  : 

The  free  colored  men  in  this  city,  between  the  ages  of  eighteen 
and  forty-five,  are  hereby  earnestly  called  upon  to  come  forward 
to  join  the 

CHARLESTON  REGIMENT, 

now  to  be  organized.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  colored  man  to 
vindicate  his  manhood  by  becoming  a  soldier,  and  with  his  own 
stout  arm  to  battle  for  the  emancipation  of  his  race.  I  urge 
you  by  every  hope  that  is  dear  to  humanity,  by  every  free  inspi- 
ration which  a  sense  of  libertjr  has  kindled  in  your  hearts,  to  be 
soldiers,  until  the  freedom  of  your  race  is  secured.  The  pros- 
pect of  your  future  destiny  should  be  enough  to  call  every  man 
to  the  ranks.  But  in  addition,  you  are  to  have  the 

PAY,  RATIONS,  AND  CLOTHING, 

our  other  soldiers  receive. 

Let  a  full  Regiment  of  the  Colored  Freedmen  of  Charleston  be 
under  arms,  to'  protect  the  heritage  which  has  been  promised  to 
your  race  in  this  department. 


212  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


Pay  of  Artillery,  Infantry,  and  Cavalry  Soldiers. 

Grade.  Pay  per  month.       Pay  per  year. 

Sergeant  Major  of  Cavalry,  Artillery,  and 

Infantry, $26  $312 

Quartermaster  Sergeant,  Cavalry,  Artil- 
lery, and  Infantry,     ....  22  264 
Commissary  Sergeant,           ...  22  264 

Orderly  Sergeant, 24  288 

Sergeants, 20  240 

Corporals, 18  216 

Privates, 16  192 

Musicians, 16  192 

Principal  musicians,      ....  22  264 

In  addition  to  the  pay  as  above  stated,  one  ration  per  day  and 
an  abundant  supply  of  good  clothing  are  allowed  to  each  sol- 
dier. Quarters,  fuel,  and  medical  attendance  are  always  pro- 
vided by  the  government,  without  deduction  from  the  soldier's 
pay.  If  a  soldier  should  become  disabled  in  the  line  of  his 
duties,  the  laws  provide  for  him  a  pension ;  or  he  may,  if  he  pre- 
fer it,  obtain  admission  into  the  "  Soldier's  Home,"  which  will 
afford  him  a  comfortable  home  so  long  as  he  may  wish  to  re- 
ceive its  benefits.  It  is  the  intention  to  make  this  an  excelsior 
regiment.  All  desired  information  given  at  Recruiting  Office,  No. 
64  St.  Philip  Street,  corner  Calhoun. 

M.  R.  DELANY, 
Major  With  United  States  Colored  Troops. 

R.  P.  HUTCHINS,  Colonel, 

Office  No.  123  Calhoun  Street. 

Colonel  Hutchins  had  now  ceased  to  be  assistant 
to  the  general,  and  was  hastening  preparations  for  the 
camp  of  instruction.  Recruits  were  fast  coming  in, 
companies  were  forming  with  alacrity.  Some  of  the 
best  young  men  in  Charleston  had  their  names  enrolled 
with  high  expectations,  looking  forward  to  the  camp. 
Besides  this,  independent  regiments  were  fast  being 


CAMP  OF  INSTRUCTION.  213 

formed,  and  three  battalions  were  already  in  motion  in 
anticipation  of  entering  the  service  to  share  the  glory 
of  the  unknown  movement. 

At  this  time  many  of  the  fugitive  citizens  were  re- 
turning to  the  city,  among  them  some  of  the  best 
officers  of  the  rebel  army,  and  the  city  was  gradually 
awakening  into  life. 

The  headquarters  of  the  major  presenting  a  scene 
always  of  active  life,  its  attraction  was  still  more  en- 
hanced, as  the  fine  brass  band  of  Wilson,  drum-major 
in  the  service,  wras  in  full  attendance,  discoursing  music 
from  the  corridors,  and  enlivening  the  entire  neighbor- 
hood, and  parading  the  streets  with  martial  pomp. 

The  major,  taking  an  honest  pride  in  his  battalion, 
writes,  "  This  splendid  new  battalion  now  performed  its 
duties  when  parading  the  streets.  They  were  com- 
manded by  acting  Captain  Shadd,  who  was  well  quali- 
fied for  an  officer,  besides  being  a  young  gentleman  of 
fine  literary  attainments.  Conscious  of  his  abilities,  he 
took  pride  in  his  duties,  and  discharged  them  satis- 
factorily. Nobly  assisted  as  he  was  by  his  acting  as- 
sistant First  Lieutenant  Toussaint  L'Ouverture  Delany, 
and  a  newly  recruited  non-commissioned  officer,  the 
almost  entire  duties  of  the  command  devolved  upon 
him  on  parade.  Had  the  condition  of  the  country  re- 
quired a  continuance  of  this  movement  to  completion, 
this  noble  young  man,  so  assiduous  and  diligent,  would 
have  had  a  position  worthy  of  him." 


214  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

EXTRAORDINARY  MESSAGES. 

THE  headquarters  of  Major  Delany  were  most 
desirable  and  attractive ;  but  it  was,  at  the  same 
time,  easy  of  access  to  any  one  contemplating  mischief. 
The  parlor,  library,  museum,  and  private  study,  con- 
tinuously arranged  on  the  first  floor  from  the  basement, 
with  glass  doors,  with  outer  Venetian  blinds,  extending 
from  the  ceiling  to  the  floor,  all  opened  upon  a  piazza, 
supported  by  massive  columns;  the  parlor  being  the 
office  of  the  major,  the  library  and  museum  the  office 
of  the  under  clerks,  the  study  at  the  extreme  end  of 
the  piazza,  the  office  of  the  chief  clerk  and  assistant 
Captain  A.  W.  Shadd. 

The  orderlies,  seven  in  number,  slept  in  the  middle 
office,  in  blankets,  while  the  ground  floor  beneath  was 
occupied  by  the  housekeeper  and  attendants. 

Early  one  morning,  before  he  had  left  his  room,  a 
colored  gentleman  came  hurriedly  up  the  front  entrance, 
passing  the  first  sentinel  at  the  outer  gate,  bearing  a 
dish,  which,  being  partially  exposed,  showed  the  fruit 
it  contained.  So  sudden  was  his  approach  upon  the 
faithful  orderly,  Isaac  Weston,  who  slept  in  the  hall 
leading  to  the  upper  chamber,  where  slept  his  com- 
mander, that  springing  to  his  feet  half  awakened,  he 


EXTRAORDINARY    MESSAGES.  215 

challenged  the  intruder.  "A  friend  of  the  major,"  was 
the  hasty  reply  of  the  man,  astonished  to  find  himself 
hemmed  in  so  suddenly  by  the  guards,  to  whom,  in- 
stantly, his  movements  were  thought  suspicious.  "  He 
is  not  up  yet,"  replied  the  orderly,  "but  his  son  is 
there,"  pointing  to  the  parlor,  wherein  was  the  young 
Delany,  wrapped  in  dreams,  no  doubt,  and  unconscious 
of  the  anxiety  without  for  his  father's  safety. 

"  I  wish  to  see  the  major  himself,"  persisted  the  man. 
"  I've  this  dish  for  him." 

"  I'll  take  it,"  replied  the  orderly. 

To  this  proposition  he  demurred,  saying,  "  I've  a 
message  of  importance  for  him,  and  must  deliver  it 
myself." 

The  guards  allowed  him  to  remain,  to  await  the 
major.  At  intervals  he  would  be  seen  to  approach  the 
window  opening  on  St.  Philip.  Street,  in  a  most  cautious 
manner.  This  restlessness  was  attributed  by  the  guards 
to  guilt  and  anxiety :  so  fraught  with  malice  and  re- 
venge seemed  the  time  and  place,  that  suspicious  of 
the  motive  of  the  man,  they  determined  not  to  permit 
him  to  escape. 

Shortly  after  this  the  major  appeared,  and  found  his 
son  in  conversation  with  the  supposed  culprit,  who  in- 
stantly arose  at  his  entrance,  requesting  a  private  inter- 
view. This  was  granted ;  but  the  orderly,  whose  faith 
was  not  quite  established  in  the  integrity  of  the  visitor, 
persistently  kept  within  call. 

As  soon  as  they  were  alone,  the  visitor  made  known 
his  business  to  him.  Said  he,  "  I've  come  this  morn- 
ing, Major  Delany,  to  impart  to  you  something  of  great 
importance.  Last  night,"  continued  he,  "a  plot  was 


216  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

overheard  to  be  on  foot,  which  astonished  us  so  much, 
that  we  could  not  sleep,  and  I  have  come  here  early 
this  morning  to  tell  you  of  it,  and  brought  these  figs 
as  an  excuse,  fearing  it  might  create  suspicion,  should 
I  be  seen  coming  here  so  early." 

"What  is  the  plot?"  inquired  the  major,  eagerly. 
"Don't  hesitate  to  disclose  its  nature." 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  the  visitor ;  "  it  is  this :  they  have 
conspired  to  assassinate  all  the  Union  officers  of  rank 
and  command  in  the  city,"  he  whispered. 

"You  need  not  fear  that,"  replied  the  major;  "they 
are  not  so  mad  as  to  attempt  such  an  act,  while  the 
brain  of  every  lover  of  the  Union  is  still  fevered  with 
the  recent  crime  at  Washington." 

"  Let  me  tell  you,  major,"  said  he,  "  I  believe  it.  I 
know  the  character  of  the  men  concerned  in  it :  they 
are  capable  of  anything  against  the  government.  They 
are  the  same  who  encouraged  the  cruelties  of  Arider- 
sonville  —  the  exposure  and  starvation  at  the  race- 
course—  the  butchery  of  the  colored  prisoners  by  un- 
necessary amputations  at  the  hospital." 

"How  do  they  propose  to  accomplish  the  business?" 
asked  the  major. 

"  They  propose,"  returned  he,  "  to  kill  General  Sax- 
ton,  on  his  next  arrival  here,  as  soon  as  he  lands;  then 
the  black  major,  next  Colonel  Beecher,  General  Hatch^ 
and  Colonel  Gurney." 

"Do  you  think  I  regard  this  more  than  some  angry 
rebel  venting  his  feelings  in  words?"  asked  the  major. 

"They  were  really  in  earnest,  and  intend  all  they 
said,"  answered  the  visitor,  disconcerted  at  not  being 
able  to  arouse  the  "black  major"  to  the  extent  of  the 
danger. 


EXTRAORDINARY  MESSAGES.  217 

"What  do  you  suppose  the  other  officers  would  be 
doing,  after  more  than  one  had  been  killed?"  asked  the 
major. 

"  It  was  all  to  be  done  at  one  time ;  the  killing  of 
General  Saxton,  which  would  soon  be  known,  to  be  the 
signal,  then  the  others  would  follow." 

"  Then,"  replied  the  major,  "  you  arc  authorized  to 
impart  to  them  that  we  are  ahead  of  them,  and  that 
the  assassination  of  General  Saxton,  or  any  other  Union 
officer  in  Charleston,  will  be  the  signal  for  putting  to 
the  sword  the  enemies  of  the  Union,  and  laying  the 
city  in  a  heap  of  smouldering  ruins.  I  give  you  this 
in  advance  of  any  advice  or  instructions  from  my 
superior  officer,  and  shall  not  wait  for  orders  in  this 
case,  when  they  are  to  be  the  victims,  but  shall  take 
all  the  responsibility  following  it.  I  believe  in  the 
Napoleonic  idea  —  ball-cartridges  firsthand  admonitions 
after." 

The  gentleman  left  soon  after,  satisfied  that  he  had 
discharged  his  duty. 

Strange  to  say,  eleven  persons  came  that  day,  each 
in  confidence,  with  the  same  information.  So  attached 
were  the  people  to  him,  that  it  is  known  that  a  party 
of  ladies  actually  waited  on  him,  endeavoring  to  per- 
suade him  not  to  leave  his  quarters.  For  their  interest 
in  him  he  expressed  his  obligations,  and  reminded 
them  that  it  was  the  duty  of  an  officer  to  go  at  all 
times  where  his  services  were  needed,  and  added  that 
those  who  were  plotting  had  more  at  stake  than  they 
against  whom  the  plot  was  formed,  and  in  the  event 
of  attempting  it,  nothing  could  save  the  city. 

Not  giving  full  credence  to  this  report,  it  was  re- 


218  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

ceived  with  a  degree  of  deference  and  careful  observa- 
tion by  the  major,  and  may  have  been  entirely  forgotten, 
or  treated  as  the  offspring  of  a  sensitive  imagination, 
unguardedly  imparted,  and  resulting  in  creating  alarm 
among  the  easily  frightened  and  credulous. 

If  the  major  had  been  awake  at  a  late  hour  a  few 
nights  after  these  admonitions  were  given  to  him,  he 
would,  perhaps,  have  had  cause  to  treat  this  report  with 
more  attention  than  he  gave  it;  but  the  affair  being 
told  to  him,  it  had  not  the  same  effect  as  it  would  have 
had  if  he  had  witnessed  it. 

In  front  of  the  piazza  of  his  residence  was  a  space 
of  shrubbery  and  flower  garden,  a  high  fence  dividing 
the  place  from  a  Hebrew  Synagogue :  for  concealment 
it  was  admirably  adapted.  It  happened  about  mid- 
night a  rustling  was  heard  in  the  shrubbery;1  then  steps 
were  heard  stealthily  approaching  the  piazza,  when 
simultaneously,  as  it  were,  faces  were  seen  reconnoi- 
tring through  the  glass  door  of  each  apartment,  the 
heads  being  distinctly  seen.  Their  appearance  was  as 
suddenly  followed  by  a  rush  towards  the  piazza  by  the 
vigilant  sentinels.  The  intruders  leaped  from  the 
porch,  and  in  an  instant  the  fence  being  scaled,  eluded 
pursuit.  Search  was  made  on  the  premises,  but  no 
traces  remained  to  give  a  single  clew  to  their  designs. 

There  was  no  sleep  to  the  inmates  of  the  quarters 
for  the  remainder  of  the  night,  though  the  major  was 
not  informed  of  this  singular  affair  until  the  following 
morning. 

A  battalion  of  four  hundred  arid  fifty  strong,  being 
under  command  of  acting  Captain  Shadd,  —  and  no  vet- 
eran troops  could  have  been  better  disciplined  to  meet 


EXTRAORDINARY  MESSAGES.  219 

such  an  emergency  than  they,  was  on  duty,  and  subse- 
quently every  entrance  to  the  premises  was  guarded 
by  his  truly  devoted  sentinels.  Thus  it  may  have  re- 
sulted unfortunately  for  even  some  feline  pet  of  some 
of  the  neighbors,  if  it  had  wandered  into  that  shrubbery, 
producing  such  a  rustling  as  on  the  previous  evening. 

There  appeared,  shortly  after,  as  though  there  was 
some  motive  attached  to  the  visit  at  the  mnjor's 
quarters.  The  fires  of  resentment  were  still  smoulder- 
ing in  their  hearts ;  the  Washington  tragedy  was  not 
sufficient  to  extinguish  it.  For  it  is  well  known  in 
Charleston  that  but  a  few  evenings  after  the  occurrence 
at  the  major's  quarters,  Colonel  Gurney's  became  the 
object  of  a  more  bold  and  impudent  intrusion. 

It  was  related  by  an  interested  party,  as  well  as  pub- 
lished in  one  of  the  journals  of  the  city,  on  the  next 
day,  that  while  Colonel  Gurney  was  seated  in  conversa- 
tion with  his  lady,  about  eleven  P.  M.,  a  party  of  five  men, 
dressed  in  the  naval  uniform  of  United  States  officers, 
entered  the  apartment.  The  spokesman  of  the  party 
entered  abruptly,  and,  on  inquiring  for  the  colonel,  was 
answered  by  him,  who  in  turn  demanded  of  the  in- 
truders their  errand. 

"  We  have  come  with  a  message  for  yoifto  report  to 
the  admiral,  in  person,  at  Hilton  Head,"  said  one. 

"  Report  to  the  admiral,  in  person,  at  Hilton  Head ! " 
exclaimed  the  astonished  colonel.  "What  means  all 
this  ?  Why  these  officers  ?  I  am  then  to  consider  my- 
self under  arrest,  I  suppose." 

"  You  are,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

"  You  will  allow  me  time  to  prepare  a  valise,"  said 
the  colonel.  His  lady  here  interposed,  expressing  a 


220  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

desire  to  accompany  him;  he  refused;  she  persisted,  and 
with  true  womanly  instinct  called  an  orderly  to  go  for 
Judge  Cooley.  The  leader  of  the  party  then  stated 
that  they  had  similar  orders  to  attend,  but  would  re- 
turn for  him  to  go  with  the  others,  and  immediately 
left,  thus  finding  themselves  outflanked  by  a  woman, 
they  were  never  seen  or  heard  from  again. 

At  the  publication  of  this,  the  major's  being  at  the 
same  time  everywhere  the  subject  of  grave  comment, 
an  intense  excitement  was  created  through  the  colored 
community  especially.  This  was  as  the  breeze  upon  the 
surface  of  our  sea,  so  recently  disturbed  and  still  un- 
settled ;  the  swells  could  be  observed  with  threatening 
approaches  to  the  shore. 

Fortunately  these  were  stayed.  So  pressing  were 
the  inquirers,  in  crowds,  as  it  were,  at  the  quarters  of 
the  major,  seeking  advice  for  action,  that  positive 
orders  were  given  by  him  decidedly  against  any  overt 
act  by  the  freedmen. 

If  these  suspicious  visits  were  carried  further,  the 
military  headquarters  in  the  city  were  peculiarly  situ- 
ated to  meet  such  emergencies.  While  they  were 
separately  commanded  and  under  different  influences, 
they  were  at  the  same  time  equidistant  from  each  other 
and  admirably  adapted  to  meet  any  emergency. 

For  instance,  the  city  was  divided  into  two  military 
districts,  running  north  and  south,  with  Calhoun  Street 
centrally,  at  right  angles ;  Colonel  Gurney,  command- 
ing the  127th  New  York  Volunteers,  at  corner  of  Meet- 
ing and  George  Streets,  west  side;  Colonel  Beecher, 
commanding  the  35th  United  States  Colored  Troops, 
corner  of  Charlotte  and  Meeting  Streets,  east  side ;  Ma- 


EXTRAORDINARY  MESSAGES.  221 

jor  Delany,  commanding  new  recruits,  at  corner  of  St. 
Philip  and  Calhoun  Streets ;  Colonel  Hutchins,  being 
on  Calhoun,  nearly  midway  between  St.  Philip  and 
Meeting  Streets,  and  Brevet  Major  General  John  P. 
Hatch,  commanding  the  district,  with  quarters  at  the 
end  of  King  Street. 

The  first  three  commands  formed  the  extreme  angle 
of  an  equilateral  triangle,  with  Colonel  Hutchins  in 
the  centre;  Major  General  Hatch  occupied  a  portion 
of  a  medial  line,  intersecting  the  east  side  of  the 
triangle  equidistant  between  Colonel  Gurney  and  Major 
Delany. 

The  interests  of  the  commands  seemed  equally  for- 
tunate and  providential,  adventitious  for  the  welfare  of 
the  people  and  protection  of  the  city,  with  Colonel 
Gurney  commanding  white  northern  troops,  Colonel 
Beecher  black  southern  troops,  Major  Delany's  troops 
incomplete,  Colonel  Hutchins  waiting  for  a  command 
with  Major  General  John  P.  Hatch  over  all. 


222  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  K.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

NEWS    FROM  RICHMOND. 

interest  in  recruiting  had  in  no  wise  abated, 
and  the  major's  headquarters  gave  evidences 
daily  of  this  fact.  At  every  public  gathering  the 
movement  concerning  the  new  troops  was  discussed. 

But  in  the  midst  of  the  most  active  preparations  and 
hopeful  anticipations  news  reached  Charleston,  simul- 
taneously with  that  of  the  national  calamity,  that  Lee 
had  surrendered.  At  this  moment,  when  the  recollec- 
tion of  that  important  epoch  of  the  war  returns  to  the 
mind,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  which  regretted  it  the 
most  —  the  southern  blacks  or  whites,  but  from  alto- 
gether different  motives.  In  the  new  battalion  the 
feeling  was  anything  but  joyful,  as  they  were  just  pre- 
paring for  the  contest.  The  major,  on  receiving  the  news, 
announced  to  them,  "  Gentlemen,  Lee  has  surrendered ! 
Thank  God,  the  war  is  over!"  without  meeting  a 
response  of  approbation  from  the  men  or  officers.  It 
was  difficult  to  convince  these  soldiers  that  the  sur- 
render of  General  Lee's  army  was  the  surrender  of  the 
South  to  the  conquering  North,  and  they  still  looked 
forward  hopefully  for  orders  approving  the  continu- 
ance of  the  camp.  They  were  not  kept  in  this  state 
of  doubt  as  to  tjie  intention  of  the  department,  for 


FROM  RICHMOND.  223 

soon  the  order  came  from  Washington  discontinuing 
the  raising  of  troops,  succeeded  by  the  special  order 
which  follows  below :  - — 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  SUPERINTENDENT  RECRUITING  AND  "^ 
ORGANIZATION  COLORED  TROOPS, 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SOUTH,  j 

BEAUFORT,  S.  C.,  June  7,  1865.  J 
Special  Orders.     No.  36. 

I.  Major  M.  K.  Delany,  104th  United  States  Colored  Troops, 
is  hereby  relieved  from  further  duty  at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and 
will  report  without  delay  to  these  headquarters,  prior  to  assign- 
ment to  duty  with  his  regiment. 

By  order  of          Brevet  Major  General  R.  SAXTON, 

Gen.  Supt.  Red.  $  Org.  Col.  Troops,  D.  S. 
STUART  M.  TAYLOR,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  104/fc  U.  S.  C.  T. 

On  the  reception  of  this  order  a  general  depression 
was  felt  by  the  colored  people,  the  freedmen,  especial- 
ly regarding  it  in  the  light  of  a  preparatory  abandon- 
ment of  the  service :  naturally  they  felt  this  order 
sorely ;  their  best  friend  and  faithful  counsellor  leav- 
ing them  without  an  apparent  cause,  was  by  no 
means  comprehensible  to  them.  And  soon  after  its 
promulgation,  the  major's  quarters  were  beset  by  an 
eager  crowd  anxious  for  explanations  from  his  own 
lips,  but  as  the  most  satisfactory  answer  or  explanation 
would  only  elicit  from  them  a  sorrowful  shake  of  the 
head,  it  was  evident  nothing  would  content  them  ex- 
cept the  order  being  recalled  for  the  major's  departure. 
Having  many  imperative  duties  connected  with  the  en- 
listment of  the  troops  unfinished,  he  immediately  wrote 
to  the  general  for  an  extension  of  time,  and  while 


224  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

awaiting  the  required  authority,  the  time  solicited  ex- 
pired. He  left  Charleston  June  26,  reporting  the  fore- 
noon of  the  next  day  at  Hilton  Head,  and  received 
the  following  special  order :  — 

HEADQUARTERS  SUPERINTENDENT  or  RECRUITING"! 
AND  ORGANIZING  COLORED  TROOPS,  '. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SOUTH, 

BEAUFORT,  S.  C.,  June  29,  1865.  J 
Special  Orders.    No.  47. 

III.  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  104th  United  States  Colored 
Troops,  having  reported  at  these  headquarters  in  obedience 
to  Special  Order  No.  36,  Par.  I,  current  series,  from  these 
headquarters,  will  remain  in  Beaufort  until  instructions  in  re- 
gard to  the  duties  to  be  assigned  to  him  are  received  from  the 
war  department. 

By  order  of         Brevet  Major  General  R.  SAXTON. 

STUART  M.  TAYLOR, 

Brevet  Major  and  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  104ta  V.  S.  C.  T. 

Major  Delany  met  the  general  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing a"t  Hilton  Head,  while  en  route  for  New  York. 
The  104th — the  major's  regiment  —  was  then  at 
Camp  Duane,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Wil- 
son. Colonel  Douglass  Frazer  being  in  command  at 
Hjlton  Head,  in  expectation  of  seeing  him,  but  adher- 
ing strictly  to  his  instructions  received  from  the  de- 
partment at  Washington,  the  basis  of  his  own  cherished 
principles,  did  not  join  his  regiment,  awaiting  further 
orders  from  the  department. 

While  awaiting  instructions,  he  was  necessarily  un- 
employed, and  there  being  many  duties  connected  with 


NEWS  FROM  RICHMOND.  225 

the  welfare  of  the  freedmen,  he  was  compelled  daily  to 
witness  their  imperfect  performance.  Just  across  the 
river  from  him  rumors  would  reach  him  of  the  dissatis- 
fied state  of  the  people;  and  as  he  was  anxious 
to  aid  in  restoring  the  industry  and  labor  of  the 
South,  he  went  to  St.  Helena  Island  to  use  his  in- 
fluence with  them,  and  instruct  them  as  to  their  duty 
on  the  subject. 

The  next  day,  to.  his  surprise,  he  was  informed  that 
his  mission  to  St.  Helena's  was  for  the  purpose  of  urg- 
ing the  freedmen  to  insurrection,  and  it  was  thus  re- 
ported at  the  general's  and  post  headquarters ;  but  the 
malice  of  his  enemies,  blinded  by  prejudice,  was  of  no 
avail  with  his  official  superiors,  with  the  exception  of 
its  being  somewhat  annoying  to  him,  as  a  rumor  aug- 
menting as  it  extended  :  it  passed  off  without  an  official 
notice. 

While  this  incendiary  character  was  falsely  assigned 
to  him,  the  following  order  from  Washington  was  re- 
ceived, and  the  current  of  speculation  as  to  the  black 
major's  role  was  turned  in  another  direction:  — 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  OFFICE,  7 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  July  15,  18G5.      ) 

Special  Orders.     No.  372.. 

Extract. 

46.  The  following  named  officers  of  the  104th  United  States 
Colored  Troops  are  hereby  relieved  from  duty  with  that  regi- 
ment, and  assigned  to  duty  in  the  bureau  of  refugees,  freedmen, 
and  abandoned  lands. 

They  will  report  in  person  without  delay,  to  Brevet  Major 
15 


226  LIFE  or  MAJOR  M.  R.  -DEL ANY. 

General R.  Saxton,  assistant  commissioner  for  the  States  of  South 

Carolina  and  Georgia. 

Major  MARTIN  R.  DELANY. 

By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Official.  E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 


HEADQUARTERS  ASST.  COMR.  BUREAU  REFUGEES, 
FREEDMEN,  AND  ABANDONED  LANDS, 
BEAUFORT, 

Official.  STUART  M.  TAYLOR, 

Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 


COMR.  BUREAU  REFUGEES,  } 

LNDS,  S.  C.,  GEO.,  AND  Fl,.,  > 

p,  S.  C.,  July  26,  1865.          > 


A  NEW  FIELD.  227 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

A  NEW  FIELD. 

PRIOR  to  the  reception  of  that  order,  Major  De- 
lany  was  in  that  state  of  painful  inactivity,  to- 
which  an  officer  is  said  to  be  a  prey  while  awaiting  in- 
structions, in  consequence  of  the  absence  of  General 
Saxton.  On  the  return  of  the  general,  in  August,  he 
was  informed,  to  his  astonishment,  of  the  ridiculous 
part  which  some  mischievous  persons  had  taken  in  the 
St.  Helena  rumor,  which  surprised  him  more  than  the 
story  itself,  he  said. 

On  Monday,  the  7th  of  August,  he  received  the 
desired  instructions,  which,  for  the  time,  definitely  set- 
tled the  position  and  duties  assigned,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy  :  — 

HEADQUARTERS  ASST.  COMR.  BUREAU  KEFUGEES, 
FREEDMEN,  AND  ABANDONED  LANDS,  S.  C.,  GEO.,  ANDFL., 

BEAUFORT,  S.  C.,  August  7,  1865. 
Special  Order.     No.  3. 

I.  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  104th  United  States  Colored  Troops, 
is  hereby  detailed  for  duty  in  connection  with  the  affairs  of 
freedmen,  on  Hilton  Head  Island,  South  Carolina,  and  will 
proceed  thither  at  once* 


228  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

The   quartermaster's   department  will  furnish   the  necessary 
transportation,  and  Major  Delany  will  make  a  request  upon  the 
post  quartermaster  at  Hilton  Head,  South  Carolina,  for  quarters. 
By  order  of  Brevet  Major  General  II.  SAXTON, 

Assistant  Commissioner. 
STUART  M.  TAYLOR,  Asst.  Adj't.  Gen. 

Major  M.  II.  DELANY,  With  U.  S.  C.  T. 


Major  Delany,  armed  with  this  authority,  immedi- 
ately set  out  for  Hilton  Head  :  there  he  found  Josiah  W. 
Pillsbury,  Esq.,  the  brother  of  the  honored  Parker  Pills- 
bury,  of  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  on  duty  as  superin- 
,tendent  of  freedmen's  affairs,  under  the  old  society's 
auspices,  occupying  a  small,  uncomfortable  room,  en- 
tirely unsuited  to  the  office  held  by  him,  the  people 
being  compelled  to  wait  without  for  want  of  space 
within,  and  attended  from  the  only  window  in  front. 
The  government  in  this,  he  said,  "was  probably  doing 
as  much  as  could  be  expected  for  anything  outside  of 
its  immediate  control." 

His  usual  way  to  prepare  or  perfect  himself  in  any 
new  undertaking,  is  to  study  attentively  everything 
relating  to  his  subject ;  for  this  reason,  while  waiting 
for'  quarters  suitable  for  the  bureau's  purpose,  he  at- 
tended daily  the  office  of  the  freedmen. 

Before  assuming  the  duties  of  his  office,  he  immedi- 
ately went  about  correcting  many  errors,  suggesting  and 
advising,  as  well  as  directing  other  and  better  measures. 
For  a  class  so  recently  emancipated,  the  greater  por- 
tion had  many  things  to  learn,  as  well  as  their  oppress- 
ors; and  in  many  respects,  like  them,  there  was  a 
great  deal  to  unlearn.  Major  Delany  says,  "  The  great 


A  NEW  FIELD.  229 

social  system  was  to  them  a  novelty,  and  without 
proper  guidance  would  have  been  a  curse  instead  of  a 
blessing.  Unaccustomed  to  self-reliance  by  the  bar- 
barism of  the  system  under  which  they  had  lived,  lib- 
erty was  destined  to  lead  them  into  errors.  To  prevent 
this  the  bureau  was  established." 

He  made  the  genius,  habits,  and  peculiarities  of  the 
people  he  was  over  his  constant  study,  which,  together 
with  his  unbounded  popularity  with  them,  eminently 
fitted  him  for  the  position.  Having  a  head  and  heart 
well  adapted  to  mete  out  guidance  for  the  unlearned, 
and  protection  and  sympathy  for  the  poor,  the  work 
under  his  management  prospered  to  the  great  gratifica- 
tion of  its  friends.  He  says  in  regard  to  this,  — 

"  If  a  surgeon  be  called  to  attend  the  maimed  or 
crippled,  his  object  first  should  be,  if  possible,  to  cure : 
when  all  remedies  fail,  as  the  last  resort,  amputa- 
tion as  a  treatment  may  then  be  resorted  to.  A  phy- 
sician, who  would  act  otherwise  than  that,  would  be 
called  by  the  profession  a  '  quack,' or  c  botch.'  As  in 
the  medical,  so  should  it  be  in  military,  legal,  or  civil 
jurisprudence.  The  object  of  appointment  by  govern- 
ment is  to  have  its  ends  subserved  and  objects  accom- 
plished. Thus  was  the  bureau  established  for  protec- 
tional  purposes." 

In  trade  and  all  kinds  of  dealings  among  the  freed- 
men,  the  weakest  points  were  sought  out  and  advan- 
tages taken  by  that  means.  He  then  sought  to  defend 
them  against  these  frauds  and  other  impositions  prac- 
tised upon  them  by  persons  using  the  magic  word  to 
them  of  "  Yankee  /  "  or  else,  "  friend  of  your  people," 
and,  "I  know  no  difference  between  black  and  white," 


230  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

&G.  From  these  men  his  course  received  much  disap- 
probation, if  not  actual  opposition.  As  this  impeded 
the  progress  of  the  work,  he  determined  to  accomplish 
by  strategy  that  which  could  not  be  done  by  direct  attack. 
Through  the 'generous  courtesy  of  the  editor  of  the 
New  South,  the  "  official  organ "  at  Hilton  Head,  he 
succeeded.  He  communicated  a  series  of  articles,  seven 
in  number,  on  domestic  and  political  economy,  condu- 
cive to  the  industry  and  labor  of  the  South.  Some  of 
them  are  here  reproduced,  to  show  his  earnest  endeav- 
ors to  facilitate  the  work  of  reorganization  in  the  de- 
partment assigned  him,  as  well  as  the  fitness  of  the  officer 
for  the  appointment. 

I. 

PROSPECTS   OF  THE  FREEDMEN  OF  HILTON  HEAD. 

Every  true  friend  of  the  Union,  residing  on  the  island,  must 
feel  an  interest  in  the  above  subject,  regardless  of  any  other 
consideration  than  that  of  national  polity.  Have  the  blacks  be- 
come self-sustaining?  and  will  they  ever,  in  a  state  of  freedom, 
resupply  the  products  which  comprised  the  staples  formerly  of 
the  old  planters?  These  are  questions  of  importance,  and  not 
unworthy  of  the  consideration  of  grave  political  economists. 

That  the  blacks  of  the  island  have  not  been  self-sustaining 
will  not  be  pretended,  neither  can  it  be  denied  that  they  have 
been  generally  industrious  and  inclined  to  work.  But  industry 
alone  is  not  sufficient,  nor  work  available,  except  these  command 
adequate  compensation. 

Have  the  blacks  innately  the  elements  of  industry  and  enter- 
prise? Compare  them  with  any  other  people,  and  note  their 
adaptation.  Do  they  not  make  good  "day  laborers"?  Are 
they  not  good  field  hands  ?  Do  they  not  make  good  domestics  ? 
Are  they  not  good  house  servants?-  Do  they  not  readily  "turn 
their  hands"  to  anything  or  kind  of  work  they  may  find  to  do? 


A  NEW  FIELD.  231 

Trained,  they  make  good  body  servants,  house  servants,  or 
laundresses,  waiters,  chamber  and  dining-room  servants,  cooks, 
nurses,  drivers,  horse  "  tenders,"  and,  indeed,  fill  as  well,  and 
better,  many  of  the.  domestic  occupations  than  any  other  race. 
And  with  unrestricted  facilities  for  learning,  will  it  be  denied 
that  they  are  as  susceptible  of  the  mechanical  occupations  or 
trades  as  they  are  of  the  domestic  ?  Will  it  be  denied  that  a 
people  easily  domesticated  are  susceptible  of  the  higher  attain- 
ments? The  slaveholder,  long  since,  cautioned  against  "giving 
a  nigger  an  inch,  lest  he  should  take  an  ell." 

If  permitted,  I  will  continue  this  subject  in  a  series  of  equally 
short  articles,  so  as  not  to  intrude  on  your  columns. 

II. 

This  subject  must  now  be  examined  in  the  light  of  political 
economy,  and,  for  reasons  stated  in  a  previous  article,  treated 
tersely  in  every  sentence,  and,  therefore,  will  not  be  condemned 
by  the  absence  of  elaboration  and  extensive  proof. 

America  was  discovered  in  1492  —  then  peopled  only  by  the 
original  inhabitants,  or  Indians,  as  afterwards  called.  No  part 
of  the  country  was  found  in  a  state  of  cultivation,  and  no*  indus- 
trial enterprise  was  carried  on,  either  foreign  or  domestic.  Not 
even  in  the  West  Indies  — prolific  with  spices,  gums,  dye-woods, 
and  fruits  —  was  there  any  trade  carried  on  among  or  by  the 
natives.  These  people  were  put  to  labor  by  the  foreigners  ;  but, 
owing  to  their  former  habits  of  hunting,  fishing,  and  want  of 
physical  exercise,  they  sank  beneath  the  weight  of  toil,  fast  dying 
off,  till  their  mortality,  in  time,  from  this  cause  alone,  reached 
the  frightful  figure  of  two  and  a  half  millions.  (See  Ramsay's 
History.) 

The  whites  were  put  to  labor,  and  their  fate  was  no  better  — 
which  requires  no  figures,  as  all  are  familiar  with  the  history 
and  career  of  Thomas  Gates  and  associates  at  one  time ;  John 
Smith  and  associates",  as  colonists  in  the  South,  at  another;  how, 
not  farther  than  Virginia,  —  at  most,  North  Carolina,  —  they 
"  died  like  sheep,"  to  the  destruction  of  the  settlements,  in  at- 
tempting to  do  the  work  required  to  improve  for  civilized  life. 


232  LIFE  or  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Neither  whites,  as  foreigners,  nor  Indians,  as  natives,  were  ade- 
quate to  the  task  of  performing  the  labor  necessary  to  their 
advent  in  the  New  World. 

So  early  as  1502  —  but  ten  years  after  Columbus  landed  — 
"  the  Spaniards  commenced  bringing  a  few  negroes  from  Africa 
to  work  the  soil."  (See  Ramsay's  History.)  In  1515,  but  thir- 
teen years  afterwards,  and  twenty-three  from  the  discovery  of 
America,  Carolus  V.,  King  of  Spain,  granted  letters  patent  to 
import  annually  into  the  colonies  of  Cuba,  Ispaniola  (Hayti), 
Jamaica,  and  Porto  Rico,  four  thousand  Africans  as  slaves  — 
people  contracted  with  to  "emigrate"  to  these  new  colonies,  as 
the  French,  under  Louis  Napoleon,  attempted,  in  1858,  to  decoy 
native  Africans,  under  the  pretext  of  emigrating  to  the  colonies, 
into  French  slavery,  then  reject  international  interference,  on 
the  ground  that  they  obtained  them  by  "  voluntary  emigration." 

Such  was  the  success  of  this  new  industrial  element,  that  not 
only  did  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  employ  them  in  all  their 
American  colonies,  but  so  great  was  the  demand  for  these 
laborers,  that  Elizabeth,  the  Virgin  Queen  of  England,  became 
a  partner  in  the  slave  trade  with  the  infamous  Captain  Hawkins ; 
and,  in  1618,  her  successor  to  the  throne,  and  royal  relative, 
James"  I.,  King  of  England,  negotiated  for  and  obtained  the 
entire  carrying  trade,  thus  securing,  by  international  patent,  the 
exclusive  right  for  Britisli  vessels  alone  to  "  traffic  in  blood  and 
souls  of  men,"  to  reap  the  profits  arising  from  their  importation. 

Was  it  the  policy  of  political  economists,  such  as  were  then 
the  rulers  and  statesmen  of  Europe,  to  employ  a  people  in 
preference  to  all  others  for  the  development  of  wealth,  if  such 
people  were  not  adapted  to  the  labor  designed  for  them?  Would 
the  civilized  and  highly  polished,  such  as  were  then  the  Spanish, 
French,  and  Portuguese  nations,  together  with  the  English,  still 
have  continued  the  use  of  these  people  as  laborers  and  domes- 
tics in  every  social  relation  among  them,  if  they  had  not  found 
them  a  most  desirable  domestic  element?  Would,  after  the 
lapse  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years'  rigid  trial  and  experi- 
ence from  their  first  importation,  the  King  of  England  have  been 
able  —  whatever  his  avarice  as  an  individual  —  to  have  effected 
so  great  a  diplomatic  treaty,  as  the  consent  from  all  the  civilized 


A  NEW  FIELD.  233 

nations  having  interests  here  to  people  their  colonies  with  a  race 
if  that  race  had  been  worthless  as  laborers,  and  deficient  as  an 
industrial  element?  Would,  in  the  year  of  the  grace  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  light  of  the  highest  civilization,  after  the  lapse 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty  years  from  James's  treaty,  the  most 
powerful  and  enlightened  monarchy  have  come  near  the  crisis  of 
its  political  career  in  its  determination  to  continue  the  system, 
and  for  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  years  the  most  powerful 
and  enlightened  republic  that  ever  the  world  saw  have  distracted 
the  harmony  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  driven  itself 
to  the  verge  of  destruction  by  the  mad  determination  of  one 
half  of  the  people  and  leading  states,  to  perpetuate  the  service 
of  this  race  as  essential  to  the  development,  of  the  agricultural 
wealth  of  the  land  ?  After  these  centuries  of  trial  and  experi- 
ence, would  these  people  have  been  continually  sought  after,  had 
they  not  proven  to  be  superior  to  all  others  as  "laborers  in  the 
kind  of  work  assigned  them  ?  Let  political  economists  answer. 

V. 

As  shown  in  my  last  article,  these  people  are  the  lineal  de- 
scendants of  an  industrious,  hardy  race  of  men  —  those  whom 
the  most  powerful  and  accomplished  statesmen  and  political 
economists  of  the  great  states  of  Europe,  after  years  of  trial  and 
rigid  experience,  decided  upon  and  selected  as  the  element  best 
adapted  to  develop  in  a  strange  and  foreign  clime  —  a  new  world 
of  unbroken  soil  and  dense,  impenetrable  forests  —  the  industry 
and  labor  necessary  to  the  new  life.  This  cannot  and  will  not  be 
attempted  to  be  denied  without  ignoring  all  historical  authority, 
though  presented  in  a  different  light  —  and  may  I  not  say  mo- 
tive ?  —  from  that  in  which  history  has  ever  given  it. 

These  people  are  of  those  to  retain  whom  in  her  power  the 
great  British  nation  was  agitated  to  the  point,  at  as  late  a  peri- 
od as  1837-8,  of  shattering  the  basis  of  its  political  foundation; 
and,  within  the  last  four  years,  the  genius  of  the  American  gov- 
ernment was  spurned,  assaulted,  and  trampled  upon,  and  had 
come  well  nigh  its  final  dissolution  by  full  one  half  of  the  states, 
people,  and  statesmen  inaugurating  a  civil  war,  the  most  stupen- 
dous on  record,  for  no  other  purpose  than  retaining  them  as  la- 
borers. Does  any  intelligent  person  doubt  the  utility  of  such  a 


234  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

people?  Can  such  a  people  now  be  worthless  in  the  country? 
Does  any  enlightened,  reflecting  person  believe  it?  .  I  think  not. 

But  this  is  an  experiment.  Have  we  no  precedent,  no  exam- 
ple ?  What  of  the  British  colonies  of  the  West  Indies  and  South 
America?  Let  impartial  history  and  dispassionate,  intelligent  in- 
vestigation answer.  The  land  in  the  colonies  was  owned  by 
wealthy  capitalists  and  gentlemen  who  resided  in  Europe.  The 
"  proprietors,"  or  planters,  were  occupants  of  the  land,  who 
owned  the  slaves  that  worked  it,  having  borrowed  the  capital 
with  which  to  purchase  them  at  the  Cuba  markets  or  barracoons 
and  supply  the  plantations.  In  security  for  this,  mortgages  were 
held  by  those  in  Europe  on  "  all  estate,  real  and  personal,"  be- 
longing to  the  planters,  who  paid  a  liberal  interest  on  the  loans. 

When  the  opposition  in  the  British  Parliament,  led  by  Tories, 
who  were  the  representatives  of  the  capitalists,  yielded  to  the 
Emancipation  Bill,  it  was  only  on  condition  of  an  appropriation 
of  twenty  millions  of  pounds  sterling,  or  one  hundred  millions 
of  dollars,  as  remuneration  to  the  planters  for  their  slaves  set 
free.  This  proposition  was  so  moderate  as  to  surprise  and  as- 
tonish the  intelligent  in  state  affairs  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean, 
as  the  sum  proposed  only  amounted  to  the  penurious  price  of 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  apiece,  when  men  and 
women  were  then  bringing  at  the  barracoons  in  Cuba  from  five 
to  six  hundred  dollars  apiece  in  cash;  and  the  average  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  according  to  their  estimate  of  black  man- 
kind, were  "  worth  "  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Of  course 
the  tutored  colonial  laborer  would  be  worth  still  more. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  Emancipation  by  the  Imperial 
Parliament,  the  complaint  was  wafted  back  by  the  breeze  of 
every  passing  wind,  that  the  planters  in  the  colonies  were  im- 
poverished by  emancipation,  and  dishonest  politicians  and  de- 
feated, morose  statesmen  seized  the  opportunity  to  display  their 
duplicity.  "  What  will  become  of  the  fair  colonial  possessions? 
The  lands  will  go  back  into  a  wilderness  waste.  The  negroes 
arc  idle,  lazy,  and  will  not  work.  They  are  unfit  for  freedom, 
and  ought  to  have  masters.  Where  they  do  work,  not  half  the 
crop  is  produced  on  the  same  quantity  of  land.  What  will  the 
whites  do  if  they  don't  get  servants  to  work  for  them?  They  and 


A  NEW  FIELD.  235 

their  posterity  must  starve.  The  lands  are  lying  waste  for  the 
want  of  occupants,  and  the  negroes  are  idling  their  time  away, 
and  will  not  have  them  when  offered  to  them.  The  social  sys- 
tem in  the  West  Indies  has  been  ruined  by  the  emancipation  of 
the  negroes."  These,  and  a  thousand  such  complaints,  tingled 
upon  the  sensitive  ear  in  every  word  that  came  from  the  Brit- 
ish colonies,  as  the  key-note  of  the  pro-slavery  British  party, 
till  caught  up  and  reechoed  from  the  swift  current  of  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  Brazil  to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  the  north- 
ern extremity  of  the  slave  territory  of  the  United  States.  But 
alive  to  passing  events,  and  true  to  their  great  trust,  the  philan- 
thropists and  people  soon  discovered,  through  their  eminent  rep- 
resentatives and  statesmen  in  Parliament,  that  the  whites  in  the 
colonies  had  never  owned  the  lands  nor  the  blacks  which  they 
lost  by  the  Act  of  Emancipation.  And  when  the  appropriation 
was  made  by  Parliament,  the  money  remained  in  the  vaults  of 
the  banks  in  Europe,  being  precisely  the  amount  required  to 
liquidate  the  claims  of  the  capitalists,  and  to  satisfy  the  mort- 
gages held  by  those  gentlemen  against  "  all  estates  "  of  the  bor- 
rowers in  the  colonies,  both  "  real  and  personal." 

The  cause  of  the  cry  and  clamor  must  be  seen  at  a  glance. 
The  money  supposed  to  be  intended  for  the  colonists,  small  as  it 
was,  instead  of  being  appropriated  to  them,  simply  went  to  satis- 
fy the  claims  of  the  capitalists  who  resided  in  Great  Britain,  not 
one  out  of  a  hundred  of  whom  had  ever  seen  the  colonies.  And 
the  lands  being  owned  in  Europe,  and  the  laborers  free,  what 
was  to  save  the  white  colonists  from  poverty?  All  this  was  well 
known  to  leading  pro-slavery  politicians  and  statesmen  in  Europe 
as  well  as  America ;  but  a  determination  to  perpetuate  the  bond- 
age of  a  people  as  laborers  —  a  people  so  valuable  as  to  cause 
them,  rather  than  loose  their  grasp  upon  them,  to  boldly  hazard 
their  national  integrity,  and  set  at  defiance  the  morality  of  the 
civilized  Avorld  in  holding  them  —  caused  this  reprehensible  im- 
position and  moral  outrage  in  misleading  to  distraction  their 
common  constituency. 

VI. 

Mr.  Editor :  This  is  my  sixth  article  on  the  subject  of  the 
"Prospects  of  the  Freedmen  of  Hilton  Head"  Island,  which 


236  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

you  have  so  generously  admitted  into  the  columns  of  The  New 
South,  and  for  which  liberality  towards  a  recently  liberated  peo- 
ple, I  most  heartily  thank  you.  The  time  may  come  when  they, 
for  themselves,  may  be  able  to  thank  you.  I  hope  to  conclude 
with  my  next. 

After  what  has  been  adduced  in  proof  of  their  susceptibility, 
adaptation,  and  propensity  for  the  vocations  of  the  domestic 
and  social  relations  of  our  civilization,  what  are  their  prospects  ? 
for  that  now  must  be  the  leading  question,  and  give  more  con- 
cern to  the  philanthropist,  true  statesman,  and  Christian,  than 
anything  relating  to  their  fitness  or  innate  adaptation,  since  that  I 
hold  to  be  admitted,  and  no  longer  a  question  —  at  least  with  the 
intelligent  inquirer. 

What  should  be  the  prospects  ?  Will  not  the  same  labor  that 
was  performed  by  a  slave  be  in  requisition  still  ?  Cannot  he  do 
the  same  work  as  a  freedman  that  he  once  did  as  a  slave  ?  Are 
the  products  of  slave  labor  preferable  to  free  ?  or  are  the  prod- 
ucts of  free  labor  less  valuable  than  slave?  Will  not  rice  and 
cotton  be  in  as  great  demand  after  emancipation  as  before  it?  or 
will  these  commodities  cease  to  be  used,  because  they  cease  to 
be  produced  by  the  labor  of  slaves  ?  All  these  are  questions 
pertinent,  if  not  potent,  to  the  important  inquiry  under  consider- 
ation —  the  prospects  of  the  freedmen  of  Hilton  Head. 

Certainly  these  things  will  be  required,  in  demand,  and  labor 
quite  as  plentiful;  but  not  one  half  of  the  negroes  can  be  induced 
to  work,  as  was  proven  in  the  West  Indies,  and  is  apparent  from 
the  comparative  number  who  now  seek  their  old  vocations  to 
those  who  formerly  did  the  same  work. 

Grant  this,  —  which  is  true,  —  and  is  it  an  objectionable  feature, 
or  does  it  impair  the  prospects  of  the  freedman?  By  no  means  ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  enhances  his  prospects  and  elevates  his 
manhood.  Here,  as  in  the  case  of  West  India  emancipation,  be- 
fore emancipation  took  place  every  available  person  —  male 
and  female  —  from  seven  years  of  age  to  decrepit  old  age  (as 
field  hands)  was  put  into  the  field  to  labor. 

For  example,  take  one  case  to  illustrate  the  whole.  Before 
liberated,  Juba  had  a  wife  and  eight  children,  from  seven  to 
thirty  years  of  age?  every  one  of  whom  was  at  labor  in  the  field 


A  NEW  FIELD.  237 

as  a  slave.  When  set  free,  the  mother  and  all  of  the  younger 
children  (consisting  of  five)  quit  the  field,  leaving  the  father  and 
three  older  sons,  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years  of  age,  who 
preferred  field  labor;  the  five  children  being  sent  to  school. 
The  mother,  now  the  pride  of  the  recently-elevated  freedman, 
stays  in  her  own  house,  to  take  charge,  as  a  housewife,  in  her 
new  domestic  relations  —  thus  permanently  withdrawing  from 
the  field  six  tenths  of  the  service  of  this  family ;  while  the  hus- 
band and  three  sons  (but  four  tenths)  are  all  who  remain  to  do 
the  work  formerly  performed  by  ten  tenths,  or  the  whole.  Here 
are  more  than  one  half  who  will  not  work  in  the  field.  Will  any 
one  say  they  should?  And  this  one  example  may  suffice  for  the 
most  querulous  on  this  subject.  Human  nature  is  all  the  same 
under  like  circumstances.  The  immutable,  unalterable  laws 
which  governed  or  controlled  the  instincts  or  impulses  of  a  Han- 
nibal, Alexander,  or  Napoleon,  are  the  same  implanted  in  the 
brain  and  breast  of  page  or  footman,  be  he  black  or  white,  cir- 
cumstances alone  making  the  difference  in  development  accord- 
ing to  the  individual  propensity. 

As  slaves,  people  have  no  choice  of  pursuit  or  vocation,  but 
must  follow  that  which  is  chosen  by  the  master.  Slaves,  like 
freemen,  have  different  tastes  and  desires — many  doing  that 
which  is  repugnant  to  their  choice.  As  slaves,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  subserve  the  interests  of  the  master  regardless  of  them- 
selves ;  as  freemen,  as  should  be  expected  and  be  understood, 
many  changes  would  take  place  in  the  labor  and  pursuits  of  the 
people.  Some  who  were  field  hands,  among  the  young  men  and 
women  of  mature  age,  seek  employment  at  other  pursuits,  and 
choose  for  themselves  various  trades  —  vocations  adapted  to  their 
tastes. 

Will  this  be  charged  to  the  worthlessness  of  the  negro,  and 
made  an  argument  against  his  elevation  ?  Truth  stands  defiant 
in  the  pathway  of  error. 

VII. 

I  propose  to  conclude  the  subject  of  "  THE  PROSPECTS  OF  THE 
FREEDMEN  OP  HILTON  HEAD  "  with  this  article,  and  believe  that 


238  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

the  prospects  of  the  one  are  the  prospects  of  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  freedmen  throughout  the  South'. 

Political  economy  must  stand  most  prominent  as  the  leading 
feature  of  this  great  question  of  the  elevation  of  the  negro  —  and 
it  is  a  great  question  —  in  this  country,  because,  however  humane 
and  philanthropic,  however  Christian  and  philanthropic  we  may 
be,  except  we  can  be  made  to  see  that  there  is  a  prospective  en- 
hancement of  the  general  wealth  of  the  country,  —  a  pecuniary 
benefit  to  accrue  by  it  to  society,  —  the  best  of  us,  whatever  our 
pretensions,  could  scarcely  be  willing  to  see  him  elevated  in  the 
United  States. 

Equality  of  political  rights  being  the  genius  of  the  American 
government,  I  shall  not  spend  time  with  this,  as  great  principles 
will  take  care  of  themselves,  and  must  eventually  prevail. 

Will  the  negroes  be  able  to  obtain  land  by  which  to  earn  a 
livelihood?  Why  should  they  not?  It  is  a  well-known  fact  to 
the  statisticians  of  the  South  that  two  thirds  of  the  lands  have 
never  been  cultivated.  These  lands  being  mainly  owned  by  but 
three  hundred  and  twelve  thousand  persons  (according  to  Help- 
er) —  one  third  of  which  was  worked  by  four  millions  of  slaves, 
who  are  now  freemen  —  what  better  can  be  done  with  these 
lands  to  make  them  available  and  unburdensome  to  the  proprie- 
tors, than  let  them  out  in  small  tracts  to  the  freedmen,  as  well 
as  to  employ  a  portion  of  the  same  people,  who  prefer  it,  to  cul- 
tivate lands  for  themselves  ? 

It  is  a  fact — probably  not  so  well  known  as  it  should  be  —  in 
political  economy,  that  a  given  amount  of  means  divided  among 
a  greater  number  of  persons,  makes  a  wealthier  community  than 
the  same  amount  held  or  possessed  by  a  few. 

For  example,  there  is  a  community  of  a  small  country  village 
of  twenty  families,  the  (cash)  wealth  of  the  community  being 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  but  one  family  the  possessor  of  it ; 
certainly  the  community  would  not  be  regarded  as  in  good  cir- 
cumstances, much  less  having  available  means.  But  let  this 
amount  be  possessed  by  ten  families  in  sums  of  five  thousand 
dollars  each,  would  not  this  enhance  the  wealth  of  the  communi- 
ty? And  again,  let  the  whole  twenty  families  be  in  possession 
of  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  each  of  the  fifty  thousand, 


A  NEW  FIELD.  I    239 

xl/ 

would  not  this  be  still  a  wealthier  community,  by  placing  each 
family  in  easier  circumstances,  and  making  these  means  much 
more  available  ?  Certainly  it  would.  And  as  to  a  community 
or  village,  so  to  a  state ;  and  as  to  a  state,  so  to  a  nation. 

This  is  the  solution  to  the  great  problem  of  the  difference  be- 
tween the  strength  of  the  North  and  the  South  in  the  late  rebel- 
lion —  the  North  possessing  the  means  within  itself  without  re- 
quiring outside  help,  almost  every  man  being  able  to  aid  the  na- 
tional treasury ;  everybody  commanding  means,  whether  earned 
by  a  white-wash  brush  in  black  hands,  or  wooden  nutmegs  in 
white  :  all  had  something  to  sustain  the  integrity  of  the  Union. 
It  must  be  seen  by  this  that  the  strength  of  a  country  —  inter- 
nationally considered  —  depends  greatly  upon  its  wealth ;  the 
wealth  consisting  not  in  the  greatest  amount  possessed,  but  the 
greatest  available  amount. 

Let,  then,  such  lands  as  belong  to  the  government,  by  sale 
from  direct  taxation,  be  let  or  sold  to  these  freedmen,  and  other 
poor  loyal  men  of  the  South,  in  small  tracts  of  from  twenty  to 
forty  acres  to  each  head  of  a  family,  and  large  landholders  do 
the  same,  — the  rental  and  sales  of  which  amply  rewarding  them, 
—  and  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  the  solution  of  the  problem 
of  the  future,  or  prospects  of  the  freedmen,  not  only  of  Hilton 
Head,  but  of  the  whole  United  States. 

This  increase  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  by  the  greater 
division  of  its  means  is  not  new  to  New  England,  nor  to  the 
economists  of  the  North  generally.  As  in  Pennsylvania,  many 
years  ago,  the  old  farmers  commenced  dividing  their  one  hun- 
dred and  one  hundred  and  fifty  acre  tracts  of  lands  into  twenty- 
five  acres  each  among  their  sons  and  daughters,  who  are  known 
to  have  realized  more  available  means  always  among  them  — 
though  by  far  greater  in  numbers  —  than  their  parents  did,  who 
were  comparatively  few.  And  it  is  now  patent  as  an  historic 
fact,  that,  leaving  behind  them  the  extensive  evergreen,  fertile 
plains,  and  savannas  of  the  South,  the  rebel  armies  and  raiders 
continually  sought  the  limited  farms  of  the  North  to  replenish 
their  worn-out  cavalry  stock  and  exhaiisted  commissary  depart- 
ment—  impoverished  in  cattle  for  food,  and  forage  for  horses. 

In  the  Path  Valley  of  Pennsylvania,  on  a  single  march  of  a 


240  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

radius  of  thirty-five  miles  of  Chambef  sburg,  Lee's  army,  besides 
all  the  breadstuff's  that  his  three  thousand  five  hundred  wagons 
(as  they  went  empty  for  the  purpose)  were  able  to  carry,  cap- 
tured and  carried  off  more  than  six  thousand  head  of  stock,  four 
thousand  of  which  were  horses.  The  wealth  of  that  valley 
alone,  they  reported,  was  more  than  India  fiction,  and  equal  to 
all  of  the  South  put  together.  And  whence  this  mighty  available 
wealth  of  Pennsylvania?  Simply  by  its  division  and  possession 
among  the  many. 

The  Rothschilds  are  said  to  have  once  controlled  the  exchequer 
of  England,  compelling  (by  implication)  the  premier  to  comply 
with  their  requisition  at  a  time  of  great  peril  to  the  nation,  simply 
because  it  depended  upon  them  for  means ;  and  the  same  func- 
tionaries are  reported,  during  our  recent  struggle,  to  have  greatly 
annoyed  the  Bank  of  England,  by  a  menace  of  some  kind,  which 
immediately  brought  the  institution  to  their  terms.  Whether 
true  or  false,  the  points  are  sufficiently  acute  to  serve  for  illus- 
tration. 

***  In  the  apportionment  of  small  farms  to  the  freedmen,  an  im- 
mense amount  of  means  is  placed  at  their  command,  and  thereby 
a  great  market  opened,  a  new  source  of  consumption  of  every 
commodity  in  demand  in  free  civilized  communities.  The  blacks 
are  great  consumers,  and  four  millions  of  a  popiilation,  before 
barefooted,  would  here  make  a  demand  for  the  single  article  of 
shoes.  The  money  heretofore  spent  in  Europe  by  the  old  slave- 
holders would  be  all  disbursed  by  these  new  people  in  their  own 
country.  Where  but  one  cotton  gin  and  a  limited  number  of 
farming  utensils  were  formerly  required  to  the  plantation  of  a 
thousand  acres,  every  small  farm  will  want  a  gin  and  farming 
implements,  the  actual  valuation  of  which  on  the  same  tract  of 
land  would  be  several  fold  greater  than  the  other.  Huts  would 
give  place  to  beautiful,  comfortable  cottages,  with  all  their  ap- 
purtenances, fixtures,  and  furniture ;  osnaburgs  and  rags  would 
give  place  to  genteel  apparel  becoming  a  free  and  industrious 
people ;  and  even  the  luxuries,  as  well  as  the  general  comforts, 
of  the  table  would  take  the  place  of  black-eye  peas  and  fresh 
fish,  hominy  and  salt  pork,  all  of  which  have  been  mainly  the 
products  of  their  own  labor  when  slaves.  They  would  quickly 


A  NEW  FIELD.  241 

prove  that  arduous  and  faithfully  fawning,  miserable  volunteer 
advocate  of  the  rebellion  and  slaveholder's  rule  in  the  United 
States,  — the  London  Times,  — an  arrant  falsifier,  when  it  gra- 
tuitously and  unbidden  came  to  the  aid  of  its  kith  and  kin,  de- 
claring that  the  great  and  good  President  Lincoln's  Emancipation 
Proclamation  would  not  be  accepted  by  the  negroes;  "that  all 
Cuffee  wanted  and  cared  for  to  make  him  happy  was  his  hog  and 
his  hominy;"  but  they  will  neither  get  land,  nor  will  the  old 
slaveholders  give  them  employment.  Don't  fear  any  such  ab- 
surdity. Theje  are  too  many  political  economists  among  the 
old  leading  slaveholders  to  fear  the  adoption  of  any  such  policy. 
Neither  will  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  country,  of  any  part, 
North  or  South,  favor  any  such  policy. 

We  have  on  record  but  one  instance  of  such  a  course  in  the 
history  of  modern  states.  The  silly-brained,  foolhardy  king  of 
France,  Louis  V.,  taking  umbrage  at  the  political  course  of  the 
artisans  and  laborers  against  him,  by  royal  decree  expelled  them 
from  the  country,  when  they  flocked  into  England,  which  readily 
opened  her  doors  to  them,  transplanting  from  France  to  England 
their  arts  and  industry;  ever  since  which,  England,  for  fabrics, 
has  become  the  "  workshop  of  the  world,"  to  the  poverty  of 
France,  the  government  of  which  is  sustained  by  borrowed 
capital. 

No  fears  of  our  country  driving  into  neighboring  countries 
such  immense  resources  as  emanate  from  the  peculiar  labor  of 
these  people ;  but  when  worst  comes  to  worst,  they  have  among 
them  educated  freemen  of  their  own  color  North,  fully  compe- 
tent to  lead  the  way,  by  making  negotiations  with  foreign  states 
on  this  continent,  which  would  only  be  too  ready  to  receive  them 
and  theirs. 

Place  no  impediment  in  the  way  of  the  freedman ;  let  his  right 
be  equally  protected  and  his  chances  be  equally  regarded,  and 
with  the  facts  presented  to  you  in  this  series  of  seven  articles  as 
the  basis,  he  will  stand  and  thrive,  as  firmly  rooted,  not  only  on 
the  soil  of  Hilton  Head,  but  in  all  the  South,  —  though  a  black,  — 
as  any  white,  or  "  Live  Oak,"  as  ever  was  grown  in  South  Caro- 
lina, or  transplanted  to  Columbia. 

16 


242  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

These  articles  were  published  from  September  to 
December  consecutively,  with  two  weekly  exceptions, 
until  the  command  of  the  department  was  assumed 
by  Major  General  Daniel  E.  Sickles.  They  were  form- 
erly published  anonymously :  until  then  the  major  was 
not  at  liberty  to  exercise  the  full  functions  of  his  office 
as  a  representative  of  the  bureau,  as  more  would  be 
accomplished  by  concealing  the  author's  name.  Feel- 
ing free  from  a  restraint  which,  while  it  may  have  been 
enjoyed  by  others,  was  distasteful  to  him,  at  last  he 
ventured  for  the  first  time  to  give  official  publicity 
to .  these  articles,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  let- 
ter:— 

Triple  Alliance.  —  The  Restoration  of  the  South.  — 
Salvation  of  its  Political  Economy. 

The  restoration  of  the  industrial  prosperity  of  the  South  is 
certain,  if  fixed  upon  the  basis  of  a  domestic  triple  alliance, 
which  the  new  order  of  things  requires,  invites,  and  demands. 

Capital,  land,  and  labor  require  a  copartnership.  The  capital 
can  be  obtained  in  the  North ;  the  land  is  in  the  South,  owned 
by  the  old  planters ;  and  the  blacks  have  the  labor.  Let,  then, 
the  North  supply  the  capital  (which  no  doubt  it  will  do  on  de- 
mand, when  known  to  be  desired  on  this  basis),  the  South  the 
land  (which  is  ready  and  waiting),  and  the  blacks  will  readily 
bring  the  labor,  if  only  being  assured  that  their  services  are 
wanted  in  so  desirable  an  association  of  business  relations,  the 
net  profits  being  equally  shared  between  the  three,  —  capital, 
land,  and  labor,  —  each  receiving  one  third,  of  course.  The  net 
has  reference  to  the  expenses  incurred  after  gathering  the  crop, 
such  as  transportation,  storage,  and  commission  on  sales. 

Upon  this  basis  I  propose  to  act,  and  make  contracts  between 
the  capitalist,  landholder,  and  laborer,  and  earnestly  invite,  and 
call  upon  all  colored  people,  —  the  recent  freedmen,  —  also  cap- 
italists and  landholders  within  the  limits  of  my* district,  to  enter 


A  NEW  FIELD.  243 

at  once  into  a  measure  the  most  reasonable  and  just  to  all  par- 
ties concerned,  and  the  very  best  that  can  be  adopted  to  meet 
the  demands  of  the  new  order  and  state  of  society,  as  nothing 
can  pay  better  where  the  blacks  cannot  get  land  for  themselves. 
I  am  at  liberty  to  name  Rev.  Dr.  Stoney  (Episcopal  clergy- 
man), Joseph  J.  Stoney,  Esq.,  Dr.  Crowell,  Colonel  Colcock 
(late  of  the  Southern  army)  —  all  the  first  gentlemen  formerly 
of  wealth  and  affluence  in  the  State ;  and  Major  Roy,  of  the 
United  States  Regular  Army,  Inspector  General  of  the  depart- 
ment ;  Colonel  Green,  commanding  district,  and  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel Clitz,  commanding  post,  also  of  the  regular  army,  each 
having  friends  interested  in  planting,  who  readily  indorse  this 
new  partnership  arrangement.  Of  course  it  receives  the  ap- 
proval of  Major  General  Saxton. 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

M.  R.  DELANY, 

Major  $  A.  S.  A.  Commissioner  Bureau  R.  F.  A.  L. 
HILTON  HEAD,  December  7,  1865. 

The  planters  of  the  islands  and  upland  districts, 
recognizing  the  advantages  of  the  bureau  in  their 
midst,  when  conducted  by  an  efficient  officer,  consulted 
him  when  occasion  required. 

Among  them  was  Colonel  Colcock,  with  whom  he 
had,  on  one  occasion,  an  extended  interview,  previous 
to  the  publication  of  the  foregoing  article,  in  which  in- 
terview the  following  resulted :  — 

HILTON  HEAD,  December  8,  18G5. 
Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  A.  S.  A.  G.  Bureau  R.  F.  A.  L. 

Major :  I  wish  to  employ  sixty  laborers  on  my  homestead 
place  on  Colleton  River,  and  two  hundred  on  Spring  Island,  and 
will  thank  you  to  engage  them  for  me,  on  the  basis  of  the  con- 
tract which  I  showed  you  on  Friday.  In  engaging  labor,  you 
will  please  give  the  preference  to  the  freedmen  who  formerly  re- 


244  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

sided  on  these  islands,  provided  there  is  nothing  objectionable  in 
their  character. 

Try  to  arrange  it  so  that  each  family  will  average  three  field 
hands,  as  I  have  house-room  to  accommodate  them  on  that  basis. 
Yours  respectfully, 

C.  J.  COLCOCK. 

HEADQUARTERS  BUREAU  R.  F.  A.  L., 
HILTON  HEAD",  S.  C.,  December  11,  1865. 

Colonel  C.  J.  COLCOCK,  late  of  the  Southern  Army. 

Colonel :  I  received  your  communication  on  Saturday  last, 
desiring  to  know  whether  or  not  two  hundred  and  sixty  laborers, 
or  cultivators,  can  be  obtained  on  the  basis  of  copartnership  of 
capital,  land,  and  labor,  or  what  I  term  the  domestic  triple 
alliance,  embracing,  a  series  of  articles  drawn  up  by  yourself,  as 
the  conditions  of  your  contract. 

I  reply  most  positively,  that  you  may  confidently  rely  upon 
such  aid  in  your  business  arrangements,  as  the  people  are  wait- 
ing, ready  and  willing,  to  consummate  such  contracts  as  this 
plan  proposes,  alike  advantageous  to  all  the  parties  interested. 

I  may  here  be  permitted  to  suggest  in  this  connection,  that 
there  are  generosity  and  liberality  of  feeling  in  the  North  to- 
wards the  South,  in  its  present  position,  scarcely  believed  by 
southern  people ;  and  all  the  North  asks  is,  that  their  neighbors 
be  disposed  to  do  right,  and  they  may  obtain  anything  in  reason, 
financially,  that  is  desirable. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  suggest  several  modifications  in  the 
articles  of  agreement  which  you  present,  to  prevent  miscon- 
struction or  ambiguity,  and  added  one  more  article,  which  I  con- 
sider important  (Art.  14).  I  name  this,  that  it  may  not  be 
thought  that  you  have  assumed  to  prescribe  what  should  suit  the 
people,  but  that  the  injunction  of  frugality  and  "economy  may 
come  from  themselves,  through  their  own  representative. 
I  am,  colonel,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

M.  R.  DEL  ANT, 
Major  and  A.  S.  A.  C. 


GENERAL  SICKLES.  245 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GENERAL  SICKLES. 

MAJOR  DELANY  was  opposed  openly  in  every 
advanced  step  he  made,  as  stated  before ;  hence, 
to  accomplish  any  new  measure  of  his  relative  to  his 
office,  he  was  compelled  to  resort  to  strategy.  Before, 
oppositions  of  various  characters  were  placed  in  his 
way,  but  he  never  permitted  himself  to  be  disturbed 
by  them.  He  was  actually  forbidden  to  address  the 
freedmen  on  public  occasions  concerning  their  rights ; 
he  spoke  through  the  voice  of  the  press,  to  the  public 
at  large,  of  their  wrongs,  and  it  found  an  echo  in  every 
loyal  and  generous  heart.  His  color  made  him  objec- 
tionable to  many  at  that  post  as  an  officer,  and  his 
scathing  denunciations  of  injustice  rendered  to  the 
helpless  and  uneducated  people  who  constantly  chal- 
lenged their  consideration,  showing  him  to  be  no  mean 
opponent,  rendered  him  still  more  objectionable. 

Now  he  was  at  liberty  to  act  freely;  having  an 
acceptable  basis  on  which  to  begin  his  work,  though 
late  in  the  season,  his  prospect  of  usefulness  appeared 
in  its  most  promising  light. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  appearance  of  his  "  Triple 
Alliance  Contract"  that  the  following  telegram  was 
sent  by  order  of  the  distinguished  commander  oT  the 


246  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  K.  DELANY. 

Department  of  South  Carolina,  since  of  the  Second 
Military  District. 

CHARLESTON,  December  18,  1865. 
To  Major  DELANY,  With  U.  S.  C.  T. 

General  Sickles  desires  to  see  you  at  Charleston  as  soon  as 
possible. 

W.  L.  M.  BURGER,  A.  A.  G. 

The  brilliant  record  written  in  unmistakable  char- 
acters by  this  great  neophyte  to  Liberty,  as  military 
lawgiver  of  the  Carolinas,  vies  with  the  glory  which 
encircled  him  at  Gettysburg. 

When  the  history  of  these  eventful  times  shall  .have 
been  compiled,  the  most  pleasing  development  of  the 
late  revolution  will  be  noted  in  the  invaluable  service 
given  to  the  cause  of  human  rights  by  those  who  pre- 
viously opposed  it.  The  ardor  of  these  converts  gave 
renewed  zeal  to  the  faithful ;  conspicuous  among  these, 
in  letters  as  imperishable  as  their  deeds,  will  be  found 
the  name  of  this  gallant  commander. 

A  few  day.s  after  the  reception  of  the  telegram 
found  Major  Delany  reporting  his  presence  at  the 
quarters  of  Major  General  Sickles.  Of  him  he  wrote 
afterwards,  "I  consider  the  gallant  general  who  con- 
tributed so  much  to  the  victory  at  Gettysburg,  a 
most  liberal-minded  statesman!-  His  massive  intellect 
at  once  grasped  with  vivid  comprehension  the  entire 
range  of  political  economy,  domestic  and  social  rela- 
tions. In  this  interview  he  reviewed  the  situation 
thoroughly,  giving  me  the  details  of  instructions 
which  were  embodied  in  an  order"  This  recogni- 
tion,* after  previous  discouragements,  of  his  earnest 


GENERAL  SICKLES.  247 

efforts,  from  sources  least  expected,  was  certainly  grati- 
fying. 

The  general,  in  giving  the  instructions  to  him,  said, 
"  I  cannot  go  myself,"  pointing  to  the  remnant  of  the 
limb  which  he  contributed  to  the  nation's  life  at  Get- 
tysburg; "it  requires  an  active  person,  and  one  in 
whom  I  can  place  reliance.  You  will  be  my  repre- 
sentative. And  I  shall  crush  whatever  dares  to  oppose 
you  in  your  duties,"  he  added,  rising  and  straightening 
himself  upon  his  crutches,  as  is  characteristic  of  him, 
and  suiting  a  gesture  to  the  word. 

Immediately  after  the  interview  with  the  command- 
ing general,  Major  Delany  returned  to  his  post  at 
Hilton  Head,  to  make  arrangements  for  starting 
on  his  tour  of  inspection.  In  this  capacity  he  was 
de  facto  the  military  representative  from  the  head- 
quarters. 

The  discerning  general  had  his  attention  drawn  on 
several  occasions  to  the  many  abuses,  both  by  the  civil 
and  military,  of  the  person  and  property  of  blacks  and 
whites.  He  could  not  fail  to  notice,  when  he  assumed 
command  of  the  department,  that  the  bureau  was  un- 
popular with  a  large  class,  comprising  Northerners 
and  Southerners  —  its  friends  and  officers  hated ;  and 
with  the  exception  of  orders  which  came  directly 
from  the  assistant  commissioner,  discouragements  were 
placed  in  the  way,  of  such  nature,  that  the  entire  social 
arrangement  was  threatened*with  neglect.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  at  this  time  the  status  of  the  bureau 
was  not  definitely  settled,  and  its  authority  could  be, 
and  was,  disputed  by  any  ordinary  military  official. 


248  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Thus,  in  order  to  check  the  growing  evil,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  a  proper  inspection  should  be  made  by  one 
familiar  with  the  system  of  the  bureau,  and  yet, 
in  order  to  be  respected,  with  a  military  authority; 
hence  the  appointment  of  Major  Delany  by  General 
Sickles. 

The  following  order  was  furnished  him :  the  instruc- 
tions therein  given,  being  strictly  adhered  to,  resulted 
satisfactorily,  as  will  be  shown. 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  > 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  December  21,  1865.      > 

Special  Orders.     No.  148. 

IV.  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  104th  United  States  Colored  In- 
fantry, will  proceed  at  once  to  the  Military  District  of  Port 
Royal,  and  the  Sea  Islands  in  the  Military  District  of  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  and  inspect,  and  report  upon  the  condition  of 
the  population  therein,  according  to  the  instructions  received 
from  the  major  general  commanding.  Commanding  officers  will 
afford  Major  Delany  all  necessary  facilities. 

The  quartermaster's  department  will  furnish  the  necessary 
transportation. 

By  command  of  Major  General  D.  E.  SICKLES. 

W.  L.  M.  BURGER,  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

While  on  the  eve  of  setting  out  on  his  tour  of  in- 
spection, a  report  had  reached  Hilton  Head  that  the 
negroes  of  Port  Royal  Island  had  matured  an  insur- 
rection, to  take  place  on  Christmas  night,  their  head- 
quarters being  Beaufort.  «  At  first  no  person  paid  suffi- 
cient attention  to  a  rumor  so  silly ;  but  finally  it  magni- 
fied into  an  alarm,  which  caused  the  major  to  be  sought 
out  by  many  of  the  white  citizens  and  some  of  the 
military,  and  requested  to  take  a  detachment  of  troops, 


GENERAL  SICKLES.  i  249 

v — ' 

and  make  Beaufort  his  first  point  of  inspection.     This 
was  Christmas  Eve. 

Believing  that  "  the  better  part  of  valor  is  discretion," 
and  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  he  at  once  made  a 
requisition  for  a  detachment  of  the  21st  United  States 
Colored  Troops,  then  doing  duty  at  the  post.  A  part 
of  Company  E  was  detailed,  under  command  of  a  ser- 
geant, with  other  assistant  non-commissioned  officers. 
On  Christmas  night  the  transport  steamer  Sampson, 
Dennett,  master,  was  ordered,  which  carried  him  to 
Beaufort,  though,  in  consequence  of  a  fog,  he  did  not 
reach  that  point  till  five  o'clock  the  next  morning; 
not  in  time  to  quell  an  insurrection  of  the  evening  be- 
fore, but  in  good  season  to  learn  from  the  "  rising  in- 
habitants" that  among  the  most  quiet  and  pleasant 
evenings  of  the  year  was  that  which  had  just  given 
place  to  the  morning;  and  the  insurrection-haunted 
whites  of  the  island  could  again  repose  in  peace,  until 
the  next  report  would  awake  them. 
.  Completing  his  official  duties  at  Beaufort,  the  next 
point  of  importance  was  Edisto,  where  he  went  by 
advice  of  Major  General  Sickles.  Here  he  met,  at  the 
headquarters  of  Captain  Batchelor,  commanding  a  de- 
tachment of  United  States  forces,  a  delegation  of  the 
old  planters,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Jacob  Jenkins 
Mikell,  Esq.,  formerly  one  of  the  largest  cotton-growers 
of  Sea  Island. 

The  1st  of  January  found  him  here,  and  he  attended 
an  immense  gathering  of  the  freedmen  at  their  eman- 
cipation celebration.  He  addressed  them,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  advice  endeavored  to  disabuse  their 
minds  of  the  expectation  of  obtaining  land,  which  he 


LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

foresaw,  and  believed  from  the  course  of  events  then 
transpiring,  would  not  be  realized.  On  account  of  this 
advice  he  was  misrepresented  by  ignorant,  though  well- 
meaning,  as  well  as  mischievous  and  designing  persons, 
the  latter  induced,  doubtless,  by  their  mercenary  pro- 
clivities. The  people  were  led  to  believe  that  he  was 
opposed  to  their  interest,  and  in  that  of  the  planters. 
But  the  greater  portion  of  these  freedmen  have  since 
learned  whether  or  not  his  advice  on  that  occasion  was 
in  their  favor  or  that  of  others. 

By  the  force  of  his -genius  and  acquirements,  as  well 
as  position,  he  had  compelled  the  old  planters  of  Caro- 
lina to  extend  a  recognition  to  him  such  as  no  black 
had  ever  before  received ;  so  that,  while  visiting  many 
of  the  plantations  of  Edisto,  so  thoroughly  had  slavery 
done  its  work,  that  his  advice  to  them  only  served  to 
arouse  their  suspicions.  John's,  James's,  and  Wad- 
malaw  Islands  were  barely  touched  upon ;  but  the 
advice  given  was  strictly  guarded,  in  order  to  be 
effective. 

He  turned  towards  Charleston  soon  after,  and  re- 
ported his  observation  to  the  major  general  command- 
ing, and  paid  his  respects  to  the  commissioner  of  the 
Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen,  and  Abandoned  Lands. 

The  detachment  of  troops  which  had  accompanied 
him  had  acted  only  thus  far  as  a  guard  of  honor,  he 
having  had  no  occasion,  happily,  for  their  service. 

While  he  was  reporting  in  Charleston,  the  order  was 
received  relieving  Major  General  Saxton  of  his  com- 
mand. The  people,  not  having  a  knowledge  of  his 
noble  successor,  Major  General  Robert  K.  Scott,  were 
anxiously  excited. 


GENERAL  SICKLES.  251 

The  following  Sabbath,  three  days  after  the 'news  of 
his  removal  was  received,  a  large  meeting  of  the  col- 
ored people,  indiscriminately,  was  called  at  Zion's 
Church,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their  gratitude  to 
the  general  for  his  steadfast  adherence  to  their  interest, 
and  their  unfeigned  regret  at  his  removal. 

At  this  meeting  the  general,  his  family,  and  a  part  of 
his  staff,  with  other  military  officers,  including  the  black 
major,  were  present.  The  speeches  and  resolutions  on 
this  occasion  gave  evidence  of  their  appreciation  of  the 
character  of  that  distinguished  military  philanthropist ; 
and  at  a  subsequent  meeting  some  testimonials  were  pre- 
sented by  the  people,  and  the  scholars  of  the  Saxton 
and  Morris  Street  Schools,  in  simple  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  official  services,  and  of  their  personal 
attachment  to  him. 

Knowing  the  suspicion  and  dissatisfaction  with  which 
the  freedmen  and  colored  people  generally  in  South 
Carolina  look  upon  such  changes  respecting  those 
whose  friendship  they  have  enjoyed,  or  those  upon 
whose  impartial  sense  of  justice  they  are  willing  to 
abide,  the  days  of  General  Saxton's  removal,  in  re- 
membrance of  their  unbounded  attachment  and  de- 
votion, and  the  scenes  attending  it,  remain  in  the 
mind  as  one  of  the  most  touching  reminiscences  of 
our  war. 

After  the  great  Saxton  meeting,  the  major  prepared 
for  setting  out  for  his  post  at  Hilton  Head.  On  arriv- 
ing on  Monday  morning  at  the  wharf,  he  was  met  by 
Brigadier  General  Bennett,  with  two  companies  of 
colored  troops,  just  boarding  the  transport  steamer 
Canonicus,  en  route  for  Mount  Pleasant  and  Sullivan's 


252  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Island,  for  four  companies  more,  on  an  expedition  on 
the  Ashley  River,  to  o  plantation  about  ten  miles  dis- 
tant, to  quell  an  "  insurrection  of  the  negroes."  This 
offspring  of  a  haunted  southern  mind  having  in  hot 
haste  reached  the  headquarters,  the  major  general 
commanding  deemed  it  advisable  to  take  measures 
to  quiet  all  apprehension  by  the  presence  of  forces  on 
the  spot,  and  with  his  characteristic  deliberation,  in 
order  to  remove  all  unfavorable  impressions  as  to  the 
intentions  of  the  military  towards  the  freedmen,  he  re- 
quested that  Major  Delany  should  accompany  the 
expedition,  so  that  whatever  action  might  have  been 
necessary,  his  presence  among  them  would  indicate 
that  it  was  executed  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances. 

Sending  back  his  baggage  in  charge  of  his  orderly, 
he  embarked  with  the  brigadier  general.  On  reaching 
the  plantation,  they  found  the  only  evidence  of  an  in- 
surrection, was  an  attempt  that  had  been  made  by 
some  persons  to  effect  an  unjust  contract,  which  the 
freedmen  refused  to  receive,  and  declared  their  inten- 
tion to  abandon  the  place  before  they  would  submit. 
The  military  applauded  their  action,  as  there  was  no 
violence  accompanying  it,  and  their  verdict,  "  You  did 
right,"  settled  everything  further  on  the  part  of  the 
aggressors.  The  major  introduced  to  their  considera- 
tion, and  finally  placed  them  fairly  on,  his  system  of 
land,  labor,  and  capital,  or  triple  alliance  system. 
There  being  no  further  need  of  military  intervention, 
they  returned  to  Charleston,  happy  at  the  result  of 
their  passive  victory.  We  would  have  cause  for  gratu- 
lations  if  future  military  expeditions  into  other  places 


GENERAL  SICKLES.  253 

on  similar  bases  of  equality  and  right  and  claims  set- 
tled between  oppression  and  oppressed,  rich  and  poor, 
had  terminated  as  happily  as  did  that. 

The  major,  having  accomplished  his  mission,  set  out 
that  afternoon  for  Hilton  Head,  to  resume  his  func- 
tions. 


254  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
RESTORING  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 

ON  Delany's  return  to  his  post,  encouraged  by  the 
approval  of  the  commanding  general,  he  again 
turned  his  attention  to  resuscitating  the  lulled  industrial 
powers  of  the  people,  by  vigorously  urging  and  aiding, 
in  his  official  capacity,  the  reproduction  of  the  staples 
which  were  once  the  traffic  of  the  South. 

The  triple  alliance  system  had  now  become  popular, 
and  his  office  was  always  thronged  by  those  seeking  ad- 
vice, of  all  classes,  blacks  and  whites,  ex-slaves  and  ex- 
slaveholders. 

This  will  be  more  readily  comprehended  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  freedmen  had  shown  a  determi- 
nation that  they  would  never  again  work  for  these  ex- 
slaveholders. 

In  his  interviews  with  either  party,  he  never  omitted 
to  remind  them  that  there  existed  no  longer  either 
slaves  or  slaveholders,  —  their  relation  to  each  other 
being  essentially  changed ;  that  all  were  American 
citizens,  and  equal  before  the  law  ;  that  the  war  having 
reduced  many  to  poverty,  unless  some  exertion  should 
be  made,  starvation  would  soon  ensue ;  and  this  while 
they  had  the  support  and  self-sustenance  within  their 
own  reach,  by  a  mere  alliance  of  their  efforts.  It  had 


GENERAL  SICKLES.  255 

been  done  before  ;  it  could  be  repeated  in  their  case. 
Under  the  old  regime^  the  master  supported  the  slave 
by  the  slave's  own  production,  which  also  supported 
the  owner ;  hence  the  support  was  reciprocal  by  mutu- 
al dependence.  The  condition  of  each  being  changed, 
a  union  of  interests  was  now  required  to  bring  prosperi- 
ty to  the  country.  The  freed  man  was  now  to  be  a  part- 
ner, having  an  equal  share,  and  controlling  his  own  affairs. 
This  would  induce  him  to  be  more  self-reliant.  His 
observation  of  the  labor  systems  of  other  countries  had 
given  him  experience.  He  explained  in  the  clearest 
terms  to  them,  that,  throughout  the  world,  the  only  es- 
tablished order  of  wealth  and  prosperity  to  a  people 
was  through  the  proper  union  of  land,  labor,  and 
capital. 

He  frequently  urged  upon  them  that  the  blacks  and 
whites  were  the  social  and  political  element  of  the 
South,  and  must  continue  the  basis  of  her  wealth  by  a 
union  of  their  efforts  and  strength ;  that  the  displace- 
ment of  the  white  southern  planters  for  northern  capi- 
talists, would  not  be  found  desirable,  as  it  would  result 
in  substituting  for  the  black  laborers,  the  poor  whites 
from  the  North,  relatives  of  the  rich  capitalists,  or  immi- 
grants, while  it  was  desirable  that  northern  capitalists 
should  unite  with  southern  proprietors,  and  northern 
mechanical  skill  and  intelligence  be  incorporated  among 
the  southerners,  rich  and  poor.  By  this  means  the  South 
would  obtain  her  true  civilization. 

On  this  subject  the  editors  of  the  New  South,  recog- 
nizing the  success  of  the  endeavors  of  this  indefatigable 
work,  and  justly  popular  officer,  pay  the  following  de- 
served tribute  to  him  in  the  issue  of  January  27,  which 


256  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

was  but  the  public  sentiment  concerning  his  adminis- 
tration :  — 

"  THE  LABOR  QUESTION.  —  We  are  happy  to  report  a  con- 
tinued improvement  in  this  neighborhood.  The  freed-people  — 
men,  women,  and  children  —  are  beginning  to  display,  not  only 
a  willingness,  but  an  anxiety,  to  get  to  work  at  once,  as  the  time 
for  cotton-planting  will  soon  be  over.  While  we  are  writing, 
several  hundred  are  congregated  around  Major  Delany's  quar- 
ters, who  acts  as  medium  between  the  employers  and  employeesi 
and  carefully  adjusts  all  points  of  difference." 

An  incident  relative  to  his  simple  and  decisive  mode 
of  disposing  of  cases  is  related. 

The  case  was  brought  up  a  few  weeks  after  his  ap- 
pointment in  the  Bureau,  by  a  former  slave-owner 
against  her  ex-slave.  In  deciding  cases  in  which  the 
freedmen  are  the  aggressors,  whatever  may  be  his  opin- 
ion in  regard  to  their  claims  to  the  consideration  of  the 
planters,  he  ignores  both  color  and  condition,  aim- 
ing solely  to  render  unto  Ca3sar  the  things  that  are 
CaBsar's. 

An  intelligent-looking  middle-aged  woman,  accom- 
panied by  her  husband  and  two  male  friends,  entered 
his  office,  apparently  laboring  under  great  excitement, 
followed  by  an  intelligent-looking  black  youth.  The 
lady  being  politely  handed  a  seat,  the  major  inquired 
her  business,  judging  her,  from  her  manner  of  acting,  to 
be  the  complainant  in  the  case\  About  this  time  horses 
were  being  sold  in  that  section  at  very  high  prices,  the 
most  ordinary  commanding  from  one  hundred  to  a 
hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars.  The  complainant 
had  just  left  the  Provost  Court,  where  a  horse,  her  fa- 
vorite, and  only  remaining  property  left  from  the  late 


RESTORING  DOMESTIC  RELATIONS.  257 

war,  having  been  seized  upon  by  the  young  lad,  —  a 
former  "chattel,"  "Jim,"  —  had  been  restored  to  her 
in  conformity  with  a  current  order  of  the  government. 
But  Jim  persistently  refused  to  return  the  property, 
declaring  in  the  hearing  of  the  judge,  as  he  left  the 
court,  he  would  kill  the  horse  the  moment  they 
should  attempt  to  take  him  away. 

They  had  been  advised  for  protection  to  repair  to 
the  quarters  of  Major  Delaay. 

The  major  gave  his  attention  to  both  sides,  and  sat- 
isfying himself  as  to  the  proceeding,  he  decided  that 
the  case  was  regular  and  valid,  and  that,  the  de- 
cision of  the  Provost  Court  being  just,  the  parties 
should  comply  with  its  demands  ordering  the  young 
man  to  give  it  up.  The  horse,  meanwhile,  stood  tied 
to  the  fence,  directly  opposite  the  window  where  sat 
the  major  at  his  desk.  The  lady  hesitated  to  leave 
the  office. 

"  Go  and  take  your  horse,  madam,"  said  he. 

"  Where  is  the  guard  ?  "  inquired  the  lady. 

"  What  guard,  madam.  ?  " 

"The  guard  to  protect'  me  and  my  property,"  she 
answered. 

"  You  need  no  protection  ;  you,  being  just  from  the 
interior,  forget  that  hostilities  have  ended,"  said  the 
major. 

"Yes,  but  he'll  kill  the  horse  —  he  swore  that  he 
would,  and  I  know  that  he'll  do  it." 

"  Take  your  horse,  madam,"  said  he,  becoming  impa- 
tient at  her  hesitancy,  "  and  don't  be  alarmed  at  the 
idle  talk  of  a  disappointed  boy." 

"  Major,"  said  she,  "  I  will  not  go  without  protection. 
17 


258  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

I  know  Jim  well,  and  if  you  knew  him  as  well  as  I  do, 
you  wouldn't  talk  that  way ;  I  must  have  a  guard,  or 
my  horse  will  be  lost,  and  all  my  trouble  and  expense 
in  coining  down  here,  and  my  only  dependence,  gone." 

Turning  to  the  woman  and  young  man  at  the  same 
time,  with  that  stern  expression  that  his  brow  some- 
times assumes,  said  he,  "Madam,  do  you  really  sup- 
pose that  the  power  which  put  down  the  masters,  com- 
pelling them  to  submit  at  discretion,  is  not  sufficient  to 
control  one  of  their  former  slaves  —  an  idle,  babbling 
black  boy?" 

The  young  man,  giving  vent  to  laughter,  which  he 
evidently  did  to  disguise  his  chagrin,  replied,  "  Major, 
I  ain't  going  to  trouble  the  horse ;  she  kin  have  um." 
The  parties,  being  assured  of  this,  left  the  office  with 
better  feelings  towards  each  other,  we  trust,  than  when 
they  entered. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  K.  SCOTT.  259 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

GENERAL  ROBERT  K.   SCOTT. 

THE  affairs  of  the  Bureau  promised  a  change  in  the 
advent  of  its  new  chief,  in  the  person  of  Brevet 
Major  General  Scott.  He  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
his  office  in  a  most  spirited  and  independent  manner. 

In  many  respects,  it  was  thought,  his  administration 
was  better  adapted  to  the  times  than  was  the  former 
general's.  The  rebels,  encouraged  by  the  smiles  of 
their  friends  in  high  places,  were  fast  resuming  their 
old  practices,  and  the  status  of  the  Bureau  was  scarcely 
recognized.  General  Scott  having  had  some  insight 
into  the  southern  character  while  a  prisoner  in  Charles- 
ton, during  the  war,  his  administration  was  looked  upon 
with  terror  by  the  unrepentant  chivalry  of  South  Caro- 
lina; and  it  was  not  long  before  the  difference  was 
felt  by  them  between  the  mild  administration  of  West 
Point's  accomplished  soldier  and  that  of  the  bluff 
western  general. 

On  assuming  the  duties  of  his  office,  the  general,  ac- 
companied by  a  portion  of  his  staff,  made  a  tour  of 
inspection  through  his  department,  visiting  every  officer 
on  duty,  previous  to  reappointing  him. 

On  this  occasion  the  major's  post  received  attention, 
and  the  satisfactory  expressions  of  the  general  gave  a 


260  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

new  impetus,  if  possible,  to  both  officers  and  laborers 
in  their  respective  spheres.  The  plans  by  which  he 
had  accomplished  so  much  in  the  department  were 
submitted  to  his  inspection,  and  received  his  indorse- 
ment. 

We  present  here  the  contract  written  expressly  for 
his  district,  and  rigidly  enforced  by  him,  though  in 
many  cases  all  the  articles  signed  by  the  contracting 
parties  would  be  simply  an  acknowledgment  of  his 
triple  alliance  contract :  — 

Article  I.  This  contract  between  Justice  Goodman  and  the 
freedmen,  whose  names  are  hereunto  affixed,  is  on  the  basis  of 
an  equal  partnership  between  Capital,  Land,  and  Labor — each 
receiving  one  third  of  the  proceeds  of  the  productions  of  the  cul- 
tivated plantation  of  Homestead  Farm,  Beaufort  District,  South 
Carolina,  and  to  continue  till  January  1,  1867. 

Article  II.  Each  laborer  is  to  receive  (besides  the  privilege 
of  firewood,  with  team  and  vehicle  to  haul  it,  and  one  acre  of 
land  to  each  family)  one  third  of  all  that  he  or  she  is  able  to 
produce  by  cultivation,  clear  of  all  expenses  except  those  in- 
curred in  the  transportation  and  sale  of  the  staple,  as  freight 
and  commission  on  storage  and  sales,  they  supporting  themselves 
and  families ;  the  proprietor  making  all  advances  of  provisions 
or  rations  on  credit  (if  required),  finding  all  dwellings  for  the 
contractors,  supplying  all  farming  utensils,  vehicles,  machinery, 
sufficient  working  stock;  and  no  labor  is  to  be  performed  by 
hand  or  by  a  person  that  can  better  be  done  by  animal  labor 
or  machinery. 

Article  III.  All  restrictions  and  obligations  legally  binding  con- 
tracting parties  in-  the  fulfilment  of  their  articles  of  agreement 
are  implied  in  this  article,  and  all  damage  for  injury  or  loss  of 
property  by  carelessness  is  to  be  paid  by  fair  and  legal  assessment. 

Article  IV.  Negligence  of  duty  in  cultivation,  so  as  to  become 
injurious  to  the  proprietor  or  other  contracting  parties,  either 
by  loss  in  the  production  of  staple,  or  example  in  conduct  or 


GENERAL  ROBERT  K.  SCOTT. 

precedent,  may,  by  investigation,  cause  a  forfeiture  of  the  inter- 
est of  such  person  in  their  share  of  the  crop.  Any  contractor 
taking  the  place  of  one  dismissed  shall  succeed  to  all  of  their 
rights  and  claims  on  the  part  of  the  crop  left  by  them ;  otherwise 
it  shall  be  equally  divided  between  those  who  work  it. 

Article  V.  All  Thanksgiving  Days,  Fast  Days,  "holidays," 
and  national  celebration  days  are  to  be  enjoyed  in  all  cases  by 
contractors,  without  being  regarded  as  a  neglect  of  duty  or  vio- 
lation of  contract. 

Article  VI.  Good  conduct  and  good  behavior  of  the  freedmen 
towards  the  proprietor,  good  treatment  of  animals,  and  good 
care  of  tools,  utensils,  &c.,  and  good  and  kind  treatment  by  the 
proprietor  to  the  freedmen,  will  be  strictly  required  by  the  au- 
thorities ;  and  all  dwellings  and  immediate  premises  of  freedmen 
must  be  kept  neat  and  clean,  subject  to  inspection  and  fine  for 
neglect  by  such  sanitary  arrangements  as  the  government  may 
make. 

Article  VII.  No  sutler  stores  will  be  permitted  on  the  place, 
and  nothing  sold  on  account  except  the  necessaries  of  life,  that 
such  as  good,  substantial  food  and  working  clothes,  conducive  to 
health  and  comfort,  at  cost,  that  no  inducements  may  be  given 
for  spending  earnings  improperly.  Spirituous  liquors  will  not 
be  permitted. 

Article  VIII.  All  accounts  must  be  entered  in  a  pass-book,  to 
be  kept  by  each  family  or  individual  for  the  purpose,  that  no  ad- 
vantage be  taken  by  incorrect  charges ;  and  no  account  against 
them  will  be  recognized  except  such  entry  be  made.  No  tobacco 
charges  above  fifty  cents  a  month  will  be  recognized  by  the  Bu- 
reau. In  all  cases  of  the  loss  of  their  account-books,  then  the 
account  in  the  proprietor's  books  must  be  taken  to  date  of  loss, 
when  another  pass-book  must  be  obtained,  and  entries  of  accounts 
made  as  before. 

Article  IX.  In  all  cases  where  an  accusation  is  made  against 
a  person,  the  proprietor  or  his  agent,  one  of  the  contractors  or 
freedmen  selected  by  themselves,  and  a  third  person  chosen  by 
the  two,  —  provided  neither  of  these  three  is  biassed  or  prejudiced 
against  the  accused,  —  shall  be  a  competent  council  to  investigate 
and  acquit  the  accused ;  but  in  all  cases  where  a  decision  is  to 


262  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

be  made  to  dismiss  or  forfeit  a  share  of  the  crop,  the  officer  of 
the  Bureau,  or  some  other  competent  officer  of  the  government, 
must  preside  in  the  council  of  trial,  and  make  the  decision  in  the 
case.  When  the  proprietor  is  biassed  or  prejudiced  agtiinst  an 
accused  person,  he  must  name  a  person  to  take  his  place  in  the 
council  who  shall  neither  be  biassed  nor  prejudiced  against  the 
accused. 

Witness  our  hands  and  signs  this  17th  day  of  February,  18G6. 

He  still  indicated,  by  his  unflagging  energy  and  in- 
dustry, as  well  as  equitable  measures,  his  consciousness 
of  the  immense  responsibilities  resting  upon  him. 

This  only  served  to  redouble  his  zeal  and  activity,  as 
this  trait  is  in  consonance  with  his  character  generally. 
In  more  than  one  instance  in  other  days,  while  the 
political  horizon  seemed  to  increase  in  gloom,,  the  man 
seems  to  have  loomed  up  more  conspicuously  in  propor- 
tion to  the  exigency  of  the  situation.  Always  actuated 
by  his  insatiable  though  laudable  ambition,  Major 
Delany  leads  an  age  in  advance  where  others  of  his 
own  people,  possessed  of  abilities  and  acknowledged 
courage,  would  even  hesitate  to  follow. 

In  his  official  duties  so  conscientiously  did  he  perform 
his  part,  and  so  firm  was  he  in  his  high-toned  native 
pride,  and  honesty  against  bribery  and  partiality,  that 
he  received  aid  from  many  of  those  whose  duties  were 
not  altogether  in  the  same  channel.  Among  them  he 
mentions  particularly  his  indebtedness  to  Major  J.  P. 
Roy,  6th  United  States  Infantry,  inspector  general  of 
the  Department  South,  Colonel  J.  D.  Green,  6th  United 
States  Infantry,  commanding  district,  and  Colonel,  now 
General  H.  B.  Clitz,  6th  United  States  Infantry,  then 
commanding  the  post  at  Hilton  Head,  now  Charles- 


GENERAL  ROBERT  K.  SCOTT.  263 

ton.  They  facilitated  and  aided  him  in  his  official 
duties,  as  well  as  ameliorated  the  condition  of  the  freed- 
men  and  suffering  whites,  refugees,  and  ex-slaveholders : 
all  of  these  came  under  his  department,  and  were  con- 
stantly referred  to  him  when  not  voluntarily  applying. 
The  editors  of  the  New  South,  who  took  note  of  his 
movements,  again  make  mention  of  him,  in  their  issue 
of  the  3d  of  February :  — 

"Major  M.  R.  Delany,  the  'black  major'  of  the  Freedmen's 
Bureau,  is  now  on  the  right  track.  Comprehending  the  situa- 
tion of  affairs,  he  has  seized  at  once  upon  its  difficulties,  and  is 
doing  a -noble  work  for  his  race.  His  sympathies  are,  of  course, 
with  those  of  his  own  color ;  but,  being  a  man  of  large  experi- 
ence, highly  educated,  and  eminently  conscientious,  he  does  not 
allow  prejudice  to  sway  him  one  way  or  the  other,  and,  conse- 
quently, he  has  a  wonderful  influence  for  good  over  the  freed- 
men.  -He  tells  them  to  go  to  work  at  once ;  that  labor  surely 
brings  its  own  reward;  and  that  after  one  more  good  crop  is 
gathered,  they  will  find  their  condition  much  better  than  at  pres- 
ent. And  he  tells  the  planters  they  must  be  kind  and  just  to 
their  laborers,  if  they  would  quickly  bring  order  out  of  chaos, 
and  establish  a  prosperity  far  beyond  what  they  ever  dreamed 
of  in  the  dark  and  dreadful  era  of  slavery. 

"Our  whole  community  here  is  taking  heart.  One  obstacle 
after  another,  to  thorough  regeneration,  is  being  removed.  As 
the  planters  succeed  in  procuring  laborers,  their  credit  is  im- 
proved, and  the  merchants  of  this  place  come  forward  to  assist 
the  onward,  movement.  Agricultural  implements,  seed,  sub- 
sistence, and  the  various  wants  of  a  plantation,  are  being  much 
more  liberally  supplied  than  they  were  a  month  ago.  We  all 
look  forward  to  a  large  measure  of  success  the  present  sea- 
son." 

Meanwhile,  the  "  muster  out"  of  the  major  was  being 
talked  of,  which  was  occasioned  by  the  disbanding  of 


264  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

his  organization.  But  the  following  telegram  from 
the  headquarters  of  the  department  quieted  the  rumor 
for  at  least  a  time. 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  > 
CHARLESTON,  February  3,  18G6.      > 

To  the  Commanding  Officer,  District  of  Port  Royal. 

The  major  general  commanding  directs  that  Major  M.  R.  De- 
lany,  104th  United  States  Colored  Troops,  remain,  until  further 
orders,  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  in  which  he  is  now  em- 
ployed, by  special  orders  from  these  headquarters.  He  will  not 
for  the  present  rejoin  his  regiment. 

W.  L.  M.  BURGER, 

Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

Indorsement  on  above  Telegram. 

HEADQUARTERS,  DISTRICT  OF  PORT  ROYAL,  \ 

SECOND  SEPARATE  BRIGADE,       > 

HILTON  HEAD,  S.  C.,  February  3,  18G6.  J 

Respectfully  referred  to  Major  Delany,  104th  U.  S.  C.  T.,  B. 
R.  F.  &  A.  L.,  for  his  information  and  guidance. 

By  order  of  A.  G.  BENNETT, 

Lt.  Col.  2lst  U.  S.  C.  T.}  Commanding  District. 

CHARLES  F.  RICHARDS,  1st  Lt.  $  A.  D.  C. 

The  interest  created  in  his  department  was  an 
acknowledged  success.  He  had  attempted  and  suc- 
ceeded in  organizing  a  system  of  labor  in  a  place 
where  it  was  previously  almost  wholly  unknown  — 
leaving  the  employee  to  the  tender  mercy  of  his 
employer,  but  upon  equal  terms.  He  could  see  order 
and  harmony  arising  out  of  chaos  and  discord.  He 
was  partially  satisfied,  for  one  of  his  favorite  meas- 
ures was  popular,  originating  from  a  black,  for  the 


GENERAL  ROBERT  K.  SCOTT.       265 

good  of  the  inhabitants  of  his  district,  blacks  as  well 
as  whites. 

His  methods,  and  the  successes  attending,  attracted 
the  attention,  as  well  as  challenged  the  admiration,  of 
the  people  in  and  around  his  post.  A  brother  officer, 
bearing  witness  to  his  indefatigable  labor,  called  at- 
tention to  it,  in  his  report  to  the  commanding  general 
of  the  Carolinas,  which  report  induced  the  general  to 
request  the  department  at  Washington  to  continue  him 
in  the  service  after  his  regiment  should  be  mustered 
out. 

By  such  recognition  of  his  services  and  ability,  ema- 
nating as  it  did  from  that  distinguished  commander, 
the  black  major  received  another  offering  at  the  shrine 
of  his  boundless  ambition,  which  none  knows  better 
than  himself  how  to  value.  Just  in  connection  with 
this,  we  are  reminded  of  an  expression  of  a  distin- 
guished divine  in  regard  to  him.  "Well  for  this 
country,"  said  he,  "  that  Martin  Delany  is  not  a  white 
man,  for  he  has  the  ambition  of  a  devil."  But  when  we 
reflect  that  the  motive  power  of  that  conspicuous  trait 
of  his  character  is  solely  for  the  sake  of  his  race,  and 
utterly  devoid  of  personal  selfishness,  one  sees  the 
beauty  of  the  halo  encircling  his  dusky  brow,  instead 
of  the  deformity  of  the  cloven  foot. 

The  following  is  the  letter  to  which  reference  is 
made :  — 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  > 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  January  30,  1866.      > 

General :  I  have  the  honor  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  recent  report  of  Major  J.  P.  Roy,  .6th 
United  States  Infantry,  and  Acting  Inspector  General  of  this 


266  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

department,   regarding  the  services   of  Major  M.  R.  Delany, 
104th  United  States  Colored  Troops  :  — 

"  Before  closing  this  report,  I  desire  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
efficient  and  able  manner  in  which  Major  Delany,  104th  United 
States  Colored  Troops,  and  agent  of  the  Ereedmen's  Bureau,  is 
performing  his  duties.  I  took  occasion  several  times  during  my 
stay  to  go  to  his  office,  and  hear  him  talk  and  explain  matters  to 
the  freedmen.  Being  of  their  own  color,  they  naturally  reposed 
confidence  in  him.  Upon  the  labor  question  he  entirely  re- 
flected the  views  of  the  major  general  commanding,  and  seemed 
in  all  things  to  give  them  good  and  sensible  advice.  He  is  doing 
much  good,  and  in  the  event  of  his  regiment  being  mustered  out, 
I  hope  he  may  be  retained  as  an  agent  of  the  Ereedmen's 
Bureau." 

I  have  also  received  the  same  satisfactory  reports  from  other 
sources,  and  concurring  in  the  foregoing  suggestions  of  Major 
J.  P.  Roy,  I  must  respectfully  recommend  that  Major  M.  II.  De- 
lany be,  for  the  present,  retained  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  I  have  ordered  his  muster  out  to  be  postponed  until  a 
reply  is  received  to  this  communication. 
I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  general, 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  D:  E.  SICKLES, 

Major  General  Commanding. 

To  Brig.  Gen.  E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

A.  A.  G.,  War  Dept. 

HEADQUARTERS.  DEPARTMENT  OP  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  > 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  January  31,  1866.      5 

Official.  W.  L.  M.  BURGER, 

Brevet  Lt.  Col  $  A.  A.  G. 

Copy  furnished  Major  M.  R.  Delany  for  his  information. 

This  was  soon  after  followed  by  one  demonstrative 
of  the  liberality  of  the  ranjor  general  commanding, 
showing  the  great  distance  he  had  cast  from  him 


GENERAL  ROBERT  K.  SCOTT.      267  1 

his  early  Tammany  Hall  political  education,  recog- 
nizing only  the  true  and  broad  republican  principles  of 
our  better  civilization.  It  redounds  to  his  credit,  and 
is  another  evidence  of  the  impartial  justice  of  the  great 
secretary  of  war  in  affairs  of  the  government,  and 
appreciation  of  merit  in  its  officers,  regardless  of  for- 
mer notions  which  seemed  to  underlie  the  basis  of  its 
principles.  This  order  is  fully  explanatory  of  the  re- 
tention of  the  black  major  in  the  service  so  long. 

A  report  had  been  freely  circulated  by  some  persons 
that  the  old  planters  had  petitioned  the  general  to  re- 
tain him,  as  he  was  "high  in  their  favor."  The  latter 
clause  is  admissible,  as  even  among  that  peculiar  class 
there  are  men  who  are  liberal  enough,  by  virtue  of  their 
acquirements,  to  respect  and  appreciate  the  dignified 
manhood  and  high  moral  character  of  the  negro  officer. 
The  planters  can  offer  no  allurement  sufficient  to 
tempt  him  to  their  special  interest.  They  cannot 
promise  power  to  him,  as  they  are  devoid  of  it,  and  his 
own  incorruptible  integrity  to  the  government  is  known 
to  have  caused  him  to  peremptorily  refuse  all  offers,  on 
the  most  advantageous  terms,  to  even  enter  into  any 
speculations  of  cotton,  or  any  other  staple.  The  fol- 
lowing order  is  sufficient  to  prove  the  falsity  of  the 
report. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  OFFICE,  7 
WASHINGTON,  February  8,  18G6.      $ 

Major  General  D.  E.  SICKLES,  Comm'g  Dept.  of  South 

Carolina,  Headquarters,  'Charleston,  S.  C. 
General:  I  have  respectfully  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  the  30th  ultimo,  recommending  that  Major  M.  R. 
Delany,    104th  Eegiment   United    States   Colored  Troops,   be 


268  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

retained  in  service,  and  in  reply  thereto,  I  am  directed  by  the 
Secretary  of  War,  to  say  that  this  is  authority  for  the  retention 
of  that  officer  in  service,  until  further  orders  from  the  War 
Department. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  C.  W.  FOSTER, 

Asst.  Adjt.  Gen.  Vols. 

HEADQUARTERS,  DEPARTMENT  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  > 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  February  12,  1866.      > 

Official  copy.  W.  L.  M.  BURGER, 

Asst.  Adit.  Km* 


THE  PLANTERS  AND  THE  BUREAU.          269 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
THE  PLANTERS  AND  THE  FREEDMEN'S  BUREAU. 

AS  the  season  for  contracting  with  the  freedmen 
of  the  islands  approached,  the  old  planters  from 
the  main  land  and  sea  islands  could  be  seen  hastening 
to  the  quarters  of  the  "black  major"  for  consultation 
with  him. 

The  picture  of  the  statesman  warrior  of  St.  Do- 
mingo, surrounded  by  the  conquered  and  impover- 
ished planters  of  the  island,  dictating  terms  to  them, 
was  again  reproduced  in  our  time,  with  the  black  offi- 
cer in  the  foreground  as  the  chief  figure,  giving  law  to 
the  planters  of  South  Carolina. 

Without  the  assistance  of  the  Bureau,  the  planters 
would  have  been  unable  to  proceed  at  any  time  after 
the  war,  and  that  section  of  the  country  would  have 
presented  a  most  deplorable  aspect.  For  the .  freed- 
men, in  view  of  their  past  condition,  were  naturally 
suspicious  of  their  offers,  and,  partly  resting  on  the 
promises  held  out  of  lands  being  given  to  them,  were 
with  difficulty  persuaded  to  accept  employment  from 
them.  And  the  often  repeated  tales  of  cruelty,  with 
the  many  evidences  of  glaring  fraud,  practised  upon 
those  who  had  been  employed  immediately  after  the 
war,  helped  to  give  an  odium  to  the  planters  which 
threatened  to  interfere  greatly  with  the  reproduction 


270  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  AS  Y. 

of  their  cotton  and  rice.  After  the  establishment  of 
the  Freedmen's  Bureau  by  Congress,  the  presence  of  a 
competent  sub-commissioner,  whom  neither  threats  nor 
bribes  could  move,  supported  by  the  strong  arm  of  the 
Bureau,  could  check  these  malpractices  and  adjust  all 
difficulties  between  them.  And  in  this  mediatorial 
character  he  was  placed,  without  the  slightest  devia- 
tion from  his  principles,  or  assuming  more  to  himself 
than  was  guaranteed  by  his  position  :  respected  by  the 
planters,  trusted  and  regarded  by  the  freedmen  with  a 
sentiment  of  pride  mingled  with  reverence,  he  has,  by 
this  means,  wrought  out  incalculable  advantages  to  the 
cause  of  reconstruction,  and  given  to  these  islands  the 
germs  of  a  civilization  previously  unknown,  while  in 
his  own  administration  he  has  given  to  the  country 
abundant  demonstration  of  the  negro  capability  for 
government. 

The  planters  at  first  disliked  the  presence  of  the 
Bureau  in  their  midst ;  but  powerless  to  retard  its  oper- 
ations, and  witnessing  its  impartial  administration,  and 
the  growing  prosperity  of  tfceir  district,  as  the  result, 
have  reconciled  themselves,  and  some  have  even  ac- 
knowledged it  as  a  success.  Thus  we  find  the  quarters 
of  the  major  visited  for  consultation  by  the  representa- 
tives of  a  class,  prior  to  the  war,  the  most  bitter  oppo- 
nents of  black  irfen's  rights,  and  many  who  were  con- 
spicuous in  the  late  rebellion,  in  the  interest  of  the 
confederacy.  There  might  have  been  seen  Colonel 
Charles  J.  Colcock,  who  commanded  the  Confederate 
cavalry  at  Honey  Hill  against  General  Hatch ;  Colonel 
Jos.  Stoney,  Rev.  James  Stoney,  Colonel  E.  M.  Sea- 
brook,  who  copirnanded  at  the  fortification  before  the 


THE  PLANTERS  AND  THE  BUREAU.  271 

capture  of  Hilton  Head  ;  Mr.  Hay  ward,  J.  W.  Pope, 
upon  whose  lands  the  batteries  were  found  erected  at 
the  capture  of  Hilton  Head ;  Major  Manning  Kirk, 
Drs.  Seabrook,  Kirk,  and  Pritchard,  Ellis,  and  Crowell, 
besides  many  of  the  younger  planters  of  the  families 
of  the  Barn  wells,  Rhetts,  Fripps,  Elliots,  and  Fullers, 
including  the  young  General  Stephen  Elliot,  who  com- 
manded at  Fort  Sumter,  and  Jacob  Jenkins  Mikell,  the 
famous  Edisto  planter  of  the  long  staple  cotton.  While 
the  affairs  of  the  Bureau  were  thus  being  conducted  by 
him,  General  Scott  divided  the  state  into  sub-districts, 
assigning  an  officer  to  each.  Hilton  Head  had  now 
been  visited  tfyree  times  by  the  general,  and  on  each 
occasion  the  quarters  of  the  major  were  officially 
visited,  previous  to  the  following  order  being  re- 
ceived, which  is  another  indication  of  the  satisfaction 
of  his  immediate  commander  in  regard  to  his  official 
conduct :  — 

HEADQUARTERS,  STATE  OP  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  ) 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  June  11,  1866.      ) 

General  Orders.     No.  5. 

Extract. 

III.  The  Military  Reservation  of  Hilton  Head  and  its  De- 
pendencies, known  as  the  Islands  of  Hilton  He"ad,  together  with 
Dawfuskie,  Bull,  and  Pinckney  Islands,  are  hereby  announced 
as  the  territorial  limits  of,  and  will  constitute  the  Bureau  Dis- 
trict of  Hilton  Head,  with  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  U.  S.  C.  T., 
as  Sub-Assistant  Commissioner,  in  charge,  with  headquarters 
at  Hilton  Head. 

By  command  of        Brevet  Major  General  K.  K.  SCOTT. 

H.  W.  SMITH,  Brevet  Lt.  Col.  Ass't.  Adj.  Gen. 

Official.  H.  W.  SMITH, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


272  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

DOMESTIC  ECONOMY. 

AROUND  Major  Delany's  district,  there  being  evi- 
dence of  an  abundant  harvest,  the  movements  of 
pei-sons  designing  to  reap  large  profits,  to  the  detriment 
of  the  freedmen,  were  apparent.  With  a  view  of  frus- 
trating their  designs,  he  suggested  proper  measures  to 
obviate  the  difficulty,  which  we  find  in  his  general  re- 
port made  to  headquarters,  dated  March  1,  1867,  for 
the  year  1866.  Therein  he  gave  his  views,  showing 
the  necessity  of  important  changes  in  the  industrial 
pursuits  of  the  freedmen  ;  also  the  measures  put  for- 
ward by  him  for  their  financial  protection. 

"  It  was  apparent  from  observation  and  experience 
that  the  custom  of  renting  the  lands  to  speculators,  who 
sub-let  them  to  freedmen,  or  employed  them  to  work  at 
disadvantageous  rates  —  that  these  poor  people,  at  the 
end  of  the  planting  year,  habitually  came  out  with 
nothing  —  nay,  worse  than  nothing,  as  those  working 
them  in  shares  having  provision  supplied  from  the 
stores  of  the  speculators,  or  renting  the  lands,  and 
obtaining  them  on  credit  from  such  stores.  When  the 
crops  were  realized,  they  paid  them  all  away  to  these 
stores  for  the  scanty  mouthfuls  they  received  on  credit 
during  cultivation  —  finding  themselves  with  nothing 


DOMESTIC  ECONOMY.  273 

—  in  rags,  and  debt  for  "balance  due"  on  the  books  of 
these  first-hand  lessees  and  supply  speculators.  And 
those  who  had  a  little  chance  of  raising  crops  for  them- 
selves to  advantage,  were  equally  the  victims  of  the 
petty  brokers  and  cotton  traders  (resulting  from  their 
superior  business  knowledge  and  intelligence,  and  the 
almost  entire  absence  of  such  qualifications  on  the  part 
of  the  freedmen),  their  cotton  being  sacrificed  in  the 
market.  It  was  evident  from  these  facts  that  there 
could  be  but  little  or  no  chances  for  the  freedmen  or 
refugees  to  compete  with  bidders  or  lessees  of  the  land, 
let  at  the  highest  cash  price  (frequently  above  their 
value  in  this  district),  except  by  an  adoption  of  some 
measure  for  their  protection,  whereby  a  portion  of  their 
scanty  earnings  could  be  saved,  and  the  lands  let  to 
them  at  prices  suited  to  their  means,  in  preference  to 
speculators  and  capitalists. 

"To  this  end  I  recommend  the  establishment  of  a 
freedmen's  cotton  agency,  to  be  attended  by  a  compe- 
tent agent,  where  all  could  have  their  cotton  deposit- 
ed on  consignment,  culled  (assorted),  ginned,  packed 
(bagged),  and  sold  at  the  highest  cash  market  value,  in 
Charleston ;  they  realizing  the  profits  themselves,  in- 
stead of  the  speculators. 

"To  make  such  an  establishment  profitable  to  them, 
the  expenses  should  be  as  moderate  as  possible,  and 
less  than  the  usual  rates  of  charges  in  commission 
houses.  Hence,  to  accomplish  this,  a  suitable  building 
was  obtained  from  the  quartermaster's  department  (free 
of  rent,  of  course),  and  those  freedmen  possessing  foot- 
gins  requested  to  put  them  up  in  the  establishment, 
where  they  might  be  used  in  ginning  the  cotton 
18 


274  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

brought,  charging  twenty  per  cent,  or  one  fifth  less 
than  the  market  price  for  ginning,  and  receiving,  when 
not  worked  by  themselves,  one  fourth  of  the  proceeds 
of  the  gin,  the  freedman  who  worked  receiving  the 
other  three  fourths  as  his  compensation,  thus  making 
them  self-sustaining  as  well  as  self-reliant. 

"The  agent  supplied  the  bagging,  and  received,  as 
compensation  for  the  advances  thus  made,  the  pay  for 
the  weight  of  the  bag,  deducted  from  the  price  of  the 
bag  of  cotton.  This  will  be  understood  in  mercantile 
circles,  as  bagging  is  always  worth  the  price  of  an 
equal  weight  of  cotton. 

"  The  next  effort,  officially,  was  to  secure  to  them 
the  advantages  of  the  lands  at  a  'first-hand'  low  rate, 
as  they  were  now  able  to  raise  the  money  among  them- 
selves, by  which  to  secure  leases.  To  accomplish  this, 
interviews  and  correspondence  were  had  with  the 
United  States  Direct  Tax  Commissioners,  who,  being 
without  instructions,  were  awaiting  the  action  of  Con- 
gress and  government  in  relation  to  the  division 
and  assignment  of  land  on  the  tenure  of  Lieutenant 
General  Sherman's  field  order,  No.  15.  After  mature 
consideration,  as  the  season  for  planting  was  rapidly 
approaching,  and  the  people  clamorous  and  anxious  to 
go  to  work,  preparing  for  cultivation,  I  concluded  to 
divide  responsibilities  with  the  commissioner,  and  let 
the  lands  to  the  freedmen  at  one  dollar  an  acre,  for  the 
year  1867. 

"  They  had  been  advised  to  prepare  for  leasing  them 
at  two  dollars  an  acre,  the  leases  to  be  made  to  one 
man  on  each  plantation,  who  would  receive  and  pay 
over  their  money,  and  see  to  a  proper  apportioning  of 


DOMESTIC  ECONOMY.  275 

the  land.  In  less  than  three  weeks  from  the  time  that 
notice  to  this  effect  was  given,  upwards  of  three  thou- 
sand dollars  in  cash  and  cotton  vouchers  were  deposited 
with  the  bureau  to  secure  leases,  and  fourteen  planta- 
tions taken  with  the  extreme  satisfaction  of  paying 
back  to  each  individual  one  half  of  his  money.  This 
last  act  of  the  commissioners  crowns  their  official 
doings  with  discretion  and  liberality,  which  should  en- 
title them  to  at  least  the  thanks  of  the  friends  of 
humanity,  if  not  respectful  consideration  of  Congress." 
The  action  of  the  major  in  this  direction  was  ap- 
proved and  commended  by  his  superior  officers,  and 
resulted  in  proving  so  far  successful.  His  duties  gave 
indications  of  further  extension  at  this  time,  by  the 
following  document,  issued  from  the  war  department, 
and  reissued  from  the  headquarters  of  the  assistant 
commissioner  subsequently :  — 

HEADQUARTERS  ASSISTANT  COMMISSIONER, 
BUREAU  R.  F.  &  A.  L.,  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  Feb.  19,  18G7. 
The  following  circular  letter  is  republished  for  the  information 
of  officers  and  agents  of  the  Bureau  R.  F.  and  A.  L.,  in  this 
state :  — 

Circular  Letter. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  BUREAU  R.  F.  &  A.  L.,  > 
WASHINGTON,  February  12,  1867.      ) 
To  Brevet  Major  General  R.  K.  SCOTT, 

Assistant  Commissioner,  Charleston,  S.  C. 
It  has  become  apparent  that  the  designation  of  the  several  offi- 
cers of  this  Bureau  should  indicate  the  nature  of  the  duty  which 
each  is  to  perform,  and  that  such  designation  should  be  uniform 
throughout  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Bureau. 

Each  state  will  be  divided  into  sub-districts,  of  the  proper 
number  of  counties,  in  the  discretion  of  the  assistant  commis- 
sioner. The  officers  in  charge  of  each  will  be  empowered  to 


276  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

exercise  and  perform  within  their  respective  sub-districts  all  the 
powers  and  duties  of  assistant  commissioners,  except  such  as  by 
regulations  devolve  upon  assistant  commissioners  themselves, 
and  these  officers  will  be  designated  sub-assistant  commissioners. 
Any  officer  or  agent  serving  under  the  direction  of  the  sub- 
assistant  shall  be  denominated  an  agent,  except  those  serving  in 
staff  department  and  as  clerks. 

All  officers  authorized  to  disburse  the  funds  of  this  Bureau 
shall  be  designated  disbursing  officers. 

Major  General  O.  O.  HOWARD, 

Commissioner. 
Brevet  Major  General  R.  K.  SCOTT, 

Assistant  Commissioner. 

Official.  EDWARD  L.  DEANE, 

Brevet  Major  $  A.  A.  A.  Gen. 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  the  "circular  letter," 
the  State  of  South  Carolina,  by  order  of  the  major  gen- 
eral commanding,  was  divided  into  twenty-four  sub- 
districts.  Major  Delany's  administration  of  affairs  in 
the  spheres  previously  assigned  him,  receiving  the  con- 
fidence of  the  assistant  commissioner,  his  province  was 
extended,  as  the  following  order  will  show  :  — 

HEADQUARTERS,  ASSISTANT  COMMISSIONER,  -\ 
BUREAU  R.  F.  &  A.  L.,  SOUTH  CAROLINA, 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  February  20,  1867.  ) 

General  Orders.     No.  3. 

Extract. 

XI.  The  Sub-District  of  Hilton  Head  will  comprise  the  Islands 
of  Hilton  Head,  Pinckney,  Savage,  Bull,  Dawfuskie,  and  Long 
Pine  :  headquarters  at  Hilton  Head ;  Major  M.  R.  Delany,  United 
States  Colored  Troops,  sub-assistant  commissioner. 

By  order  of          Brevet  Major  General  R.  K.  SCOTT, 

Assistant  Commissioner. 
Official.  EDWARD  L.  DEANE, 

Brevet  Major  $  A.  A.  A.  Gen. 


CIVIL  AFFAIRS.  —  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON.      277 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
CIVIL  AFFAIRS.  —  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON. 

MAJOR  DELANY  was  fully  cognizant  of  the  ex- 
ceeding delicacy  of  his  position,  filling,  as  he 
was,  a  position  of  trust  and  honor  such  as  no  man  of 
his  race  had  ever  yet  obtained  under  the  general  gov- 
ernment ;  and  how  easily  it  could  be  compromised  in 
his  case  !  yet  his  old  ardor  in  contributing  his  efforts  in 
building  up  any  measure,  or  uprooting  whatever  oppo- 
sition presented  itself  in  the  onward  march  of  his  race, 
remained  unabated. 

Notwithstanding  his  position  in  the  army,  yet  to 
every  one  aware  of  his  life-long  consecration  to  the 
interests  of  his  race,  there  would  be  no  hesitancy  on 
their  part  to  decide  on  which  side  he  would  be  found 
in  any  matter  in  which  he  should  choose  between  them 
and  his  position.  While  he  studiously  avoided  the 
general  discussion  of  politics,  he  was  by  no  means  in- 
different to  the  political  aspect  of  the  times,  ancl  aided, 
in  his  position  as  the  military  official,.. as  he  had  for- 
merly done  in  deeds  as  the  civHian.  Thus,  while  in 
Beaufort  awaiting  orders,  the  subject  of  reconstruction 
being  under  popular^iiscussion,  he  perceived  that  the 
claims  of  the  colored  people  were  evaded ;  and  that 
the  sacrifice  of  lives  made  in  countless  battle-fields  by 


278  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

dusky  warriors,  that  the  country  might  be  saved,  was 
valueless  and  unappreciated.  His  moral  courage  urged 
him  to  remonstrate,  even  though  his  position  should  be 
compromised.  To  this  end  he  addressed  the  following 
to  President  Johnson,  which  afterwards  found  its  way 
into  print :  — 

To  His  Excellency  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON  : 

Sir:  I  propose,  simply  as  a  black  man,  —  one  of  the  race 
most  directly  interested  in  the  question  of  enfranchisement  and 
the  exercise  of  suffrage,  —  a  cursory  view  of  the  basis  of  security 
for  perpetuating  the  Union. 

When  the  compact  was  formed,  the  British  —  a  foreign  nation 
—  threatened  the  integrity  and  destruction  of  the  American  col- 
onies. This  outside  pressure  drove  them  together  as  independ- 
ent states,  and  so  long  as  they  desired* a  Union,  —  appreciating 
the  power  of  the  enemy,  and  comprehending  their  own  national 
strength,  —  it  was  sufficient  security  against  any  attempt  at  a 
dissolution  or  foreign  subjugation. 

So  soon,  however,  as,  mistaking  their  own  strength,  or  design- 
ing an  alliance  with  some  other  power,  a  portion  of  those  states 
became  dissatisfied  with  the  Union,  and  recklessly  sought  its 
dissolution  by  a  resort  to  the  sword,  so  nearly  equally  di- 
vided were  the  two  sections,  that  foreign  intervention  or  an 
exhausting  continuance  of  the  struggle  would  most  certainly 
have  effected  a  dissolution  of  the  Union. 

But  an  element,  heretofore  latent  and  unthought  of,  —  a  power 
passive  and  unrecognized,  —  suddenly  presented  itself  to  the 
American  mind,  and  its  arm  to  the  nation.  This  power  was  de- 
veloped in  the  blacks,  heretofore  discarded  as  a  national  nonen- 
tity—  a  dreg  or  excrescence  on  the  body  politic.  Free,  without 
rights,  or  slaves,  mainly,  —  therefore  things  constructively,  — 
when  called  to  the  country's  aid  they  developed  a  force  which 
proved  the  balance  precisely  called  for,  and  essentially  neces- 
sary as  an  elementary  part  of  the  national  strength.  Without 
this  force,  or  its  equivalent,  the  rebellion  could  not  have  been 


CIVIL  AFFAIRS.  —  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON.      279 

subdued,  and  without  it  as  an  inseparable  national  element,  the 
Union  is  insecure. 

What  becomes  necessary,  then,  to  secure  and  perpetuate  the 
integrity  of  the  Union,  is  simply  the  enfranchisement  and  recog- 
nition of  the  political  equality  of  the  power  that  saved  the  nation 
from  destruction  in  a  time  of  imminent  peril  —  a  recognition  of 
the  political  equality  of  the  blacks  with  the  whites  in  all  of  their 
relations  as  American  citizens.  Therefore,  with  the  elective 
franchise,  and  the  exercise  of  suffrage  in  all  of  the  Southern 
States  recently  holding  slaves,  there  is  no  earthly  power  able 
to  cope  with  the  United  States  as  a  military  power ;  consequent- 
ly nothing  to  endanger  the  national  integrity.  Nor  can  there 
ever  arise  from  this  element  the  same  contingency  to  threaten 
and  disturb  the  quietude  of  the  country  as  that  which  has  just 
been  so  happily  disposed  of.  Because,  believing  themselves 
sufficiently  able,  either  with  or  without  foreign  aid,  the  rebels 
drew  the  sword  against  their  country,  which  developed  a  power 
in  national  means  —  military,  financial,  and  statesmanship  — 
that  astonished  the  world,  and  brought  them  to  submission. 
Hence,  whatever  their  disposition  or  dissatisfaction,  the  blacks, 
nor  any  other  fractional  part  of  the  country,  with  the  historic 
knowledge  before  them  of  its  prowess,  will  ever  be  foolhardy 
enough  to  attempt  rebellion  or  secession.  And  their  own  politi- 
cal interest  will  ever  keep  them  true  and  faithful  to  the  Union, 
thereby  securing  their  own  liberty,  and  proving  a  lasting  safe- 
guard as  a  balance  in  the  political  scale  of  the  country. 

As  the  fear  of  the  British,  as  an  outside  pressure,  drove,  and 
for  a  time  kept  and  held  the  Union  together,  so  will  the  fear  of 
the  loss  of  liberty  and  their  political  status,  as  an  element  in  this 
great  nation,  serve  as  the  outside  pressure  necessary  to  secure  the 
fidelity  of  the' blacks  to  the  Union.  And  this  fidelity,  unlike  that 
of  the  rebels,  need  never  be  mistrusted ;  because,  unlike  them, 
the  blacks  have  before  them  the  proofs  of  the  power  and  ability 
of  the  Union  to  maintain  unsullied  the  prestige  of  the  national 
integrity,  even  were  they,  like  them,  traitorously  disposed  to 
destroy  their  country,  or  see  it  usurped  by  foreign  nations. 

This,  sir,  seems  to  me  conclusive,  and  is  the  main  point  upon 


280  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

which  I  base  my  argument  against  the  contingency  of  a  future 
dissolution  of  the  American  Union,  and  in  favor  of  its  security. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

M.  R.  DELANY, 
Major  104th  U.  S.  0.  T. 
PORT  ROYAL  ISLAND,  S.  C.,  July  25,  1806. 

On  another  occasion  from  his  island  post  he  stood  an 
interested  listener  to  the  sounds  which  the  breeze  bore 
up  to  him,  telling  of  the  plans  of  reconstruction  towards 
the  Southern  States.  Impatient,  he  watched  for  the 
action  of  the  leaders  of  colored  people  themselves  on 
this  momentous  question,  but  as  yet  saw  no  evidence 
of  it. 

In  his  position  as  an  officer  in  the  service  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  a  civil  magistrate,  as  all  officers  of  the 
Bureau  necessarily  are,  he  was  contributing  a  giant's 
help  to  the  cause,  which,  in  view  of  the  limited  sphere 
apportioned  his  race,  rendered  him  an  invaluable  aux- 
iliary. 

The  political  horizon  had  suddenly  become,  overcast ; 
the  role  of  the  executive  was  changed  to  that  of  Pharaoh 
instead  of  "  Moses,"  and  he  beheld  with  joy  the  general 
uprising  of  the  colored  people  in  their  strength  to  avert 
the  threatening  ruin. 

It  was  an  occasion  long  to  be  remembered,  and  sug- 
gestive of  a  moral  which  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  by 
the  American  people.  They  sent  from  every,  section 
of  the  Union  delegated  representatives  of  their  own 
race  to  the  national  capital,  near  the  government,  to 
"  lobby "  for  their  claims  in  ihe  great  American  body 
politic,  as  at  this  time  these  claims  were  fast  being 
evaded,  if  not  actually  ignored. 


CIVIL  AFFAIRS.  —  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON.      281 

It  is  not  yet  forgotten  the  visit  of  the  delegates  to 
the  president;  his  remarks  on  the  occasion,  with  the 
advice  to  place  their  cause  before  the  people  ;  or  the 
able  manner  in  which  the  noble  Douglass  replied  to 
him,  and  the  subsequent  ringing  appeal  which  he  made 
resound  through  the  land  to  reach  the  people. 

Major  Delany,  anxious  to  identify  himself  with  the 
movement,  though  absent  from  the  immediate  scene, 
showed  his  entire  cooperation  with  them  in  the  follow- 
ing letter,  which  he  addressed  to  them :  — 

BUREAU  K.  F.  A.  L.,         } 

PORT  EOYAL,  HILTON  HEAD  ISLAND,  S.  C.,  > 

February,  22,  18GG.      ) 

To  Messrs.  G.  T.  DOWNING,  WILLIAM  WHIPPER,  FREDERICK 
DOUGLASS,  JOHN  JONES,  L.  H.  DOUGLASS,  and  others,  Colored 
Delegation  representing  the  Political  Interests  of  the  Colored 
People  of  the  United  States,  now  near  the  Capital  and  Govern- 
ment, Washington,  D.  G. 

My  dear  Brothers  :  I  have  been  watching  with  deep  interest 
your  movements  at  Washington,  near  the  government  of  your 
country.  I  need  not  repeat  to  you  that  which  you  all  know,  and 
that  which  we  have  oft  repeated  to  each  other  privately,  in  coun- 
cil, and  through  the  public  journals,  —  we  are  one  in  interest  and 
destiny  in  America.  I  am  with  you ;  yea,  if  your  intentions, 
designs,  purposes,  matter,  and  manner  continue  the  same  as 
those  presented  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation,  then  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  to  the  end.  Be  mild,  as  is  the  nature  of 
your  race ;  be  respectful  and  deferential,  as  you  will  be ;  and 
dignified  as  you  have  been ;  but  be  determined  and  persevering. 
Your  position  before  the  saged  president,  and  reply  after  you 
left  him,  challenges  the  admiration  of  the  world.  At  least  it 
challenges  mine,  and  as  a  brother  you  have  it. 

Do  not  misjudge  the  president,  but  believe,  as  I  do,  that  he 
means  to  do  right';  that  his  intentions  are  good ;  that  he  is  inter- 


282  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

ested,  among  those  of  others  of  his  fellow-citizens,  in  the  welfare 
of  the  black  man.  That  he  loves  Caesar  none  the  less,  but  Home 
more.  Do  not  expect  too  much  of  him  —  as  black  men,  I  mean. 
Do  not  forget  that  you  are  black  and  he  is  white.  Make  large 
allowances  for  this,  and  take  this  as  the  stand-point.  Whatever 
we  may  think  of  ourselves,  do  not  forget  that  we  are  far  in  ad- 
vance of  our  white  American  fellow-citizens  in  that  direction. 
Remember  that  men  are  very  differently  constituted,  and  what 
one  will  dread  and  shun  another  will  boldly  dare  and  venture ; 
where  one  would  succeed  another  might  fail.  Not  far  from 
where  I  am  at  present  posted  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina, 
there  are  several  inlets,  of  which  I  will  name  two  —  Edisto  and 
St.  Helena.  Of  these,  one  pilot  will  shun  one,  and  another  the 
other,  each  taking  his  vessel  easily  through  that  which  he  en- 
ters ;  while  another  will  not  venture  into  either,  but  prefers  — 
especially  during  a  storm —  to  go  outside  to  sea  for  the  safety  of 
the  vessel;  all  reaching,  timely,  their  destination,  Hilton  Head, 
in  safety. 

Here,  what  one  shuns  as  a  danger  another  regards  as  a  point 
of  safety;  and  that  which  one  dreads  another  dares.  What 
General  Sherman  succeeded  in,  General  Meade  might  have 
failed  in ;  while  General  Grant  may  have  prosecuted  either  with 
success.  Men  must  be  measured  and  adjudged  according  to 
their  temperaments  and  peculiar  constitutional  faculties. 

Do  not  grow  weary  nor  discouraged,  neither  disheartened  nor 
impatient.  Do  not  forget  God.  Think,  O  think  how  wonder- 
fully he  made  himself  manifest  during  the  war.  Only  think  how 
he  confounded,  not  only  the  wisdom  of  the  mighty  of  this  land, 
but  of  the  world,  making  them  confess  that  he  is  the  Lord,  high 
over  all,  and  most  mighty.  He  still  lives.  Put  your  trust  in 
him.  As  my  soul  liveth,  you  will  reap  if  you  faint  not.  Wait! 
"  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong,  but  he 
that  endureth  to  the  end."  Bide  your  time. 

Since  we  last  met  in  council  great  changes  have  taken  place, 
and  much  has  been  gained.  The  batttle-cry  has  been  heard  in 
our  midst,  a  terrible  contest  of  civil  war  has  raged,  and  a  death- 
struggle  for  national  life  summoned  every  lover  of  the  Union  to 
the  combat.  We  among  our  fellow-citizens  received  the  mes- 


CIVIL  AFFAIRS.  —  PRESIDENT  JOHNSON.      283 

sage,  and  eagerly  obeyed  the  call.  Our  black  right  arms  were 
stripped,  our  bosoms  bared,  and  we  stood  in  the  front  rank  of 
battle.  Slavery  yielded,  the  yoke  was  broken,  the  manacles 
shattered,  the  shackles  fell,  and  we  stood  forth  a  race  redeemed! 
Instead  of  despair,  "  Glory  to  God!  "  rather  let  us  cry.  In  the 
cause  of  our  country  you  and  I  have  done,  and  still  are  doing, 
our  part,  and  a  great  and  just  nation  will  not  be  unmindful  of  it. 
God  is  just.  Stand  still  and  see  his  salvation. 

"  Be  patient  in  your  misery; 
Be  meek  in  your  despair ; 
Be  patient,  O  be  patient ! 
Suffer  on,  suffer  on  !  " 

Your  brother  in  the  cause  of  our  common  country, 

M.  R.  DELANY. 

Before  the  immediate  reapers  themseves  could  dis- 
cern the  whitening  harvest,  he  had  within  sight  other 
fields  in  which  to  lead  them. 

For  their  protection,  and  at  the  same  time  to  facilitate 
the  duties  of  the  Bureau,  he  established  a  police  sys- 
tem, each  plantation  or  settlement  having  its  distinct 
body  of  policemen,  not  exceeding  five.  This  included 
the  chief,  or,  as  called  by  the  freedmen,  "headman," 
who  made  choice  of  his  assistants,  who  reported,  and 
were  responsible  to  him  for  their  action ;  the  chief,  in 
turn,  monthly  reporting  to  Major  Delany.  And  all 
such  cases  as  could  not  be  settled  by  the  chief  of  po- 
lice were  immediately  reported  to  him  at  headquarters. 
As  it  was  mutually  beneficial,  causing  each  to  respect 
the  right  of  the  other,  this  arrangement  found  favor 
with  both  planters  'and  freedmen.  It  was  practically 
demonstrating  the  reality  of  the  new  social  relation. 
It  was  designed  by  him  to  prove  the  fitness  of  the  ex- 
slave  to  perform  his  part  in  the  duties  of  the  civil,  with 


284  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

equal  ability  to  that  displayed  in  the  military  service 
of  the  government,  while  it  would  seem  to  make  him 
more  self-reliant,  and  desirous  of  controlling  his  own 
affairs  as  a  free  man.  It  proved  a  success. 

After  its  adoption,  Brigadier  General  Nye,  command- 
ing the  district  at  that  time,  witnessing  its  utility,  at 
once  approved  of  it.  And  it  continued  uninterrupted 
through  all  the  succeeding  commands. 

Their  vigilance  in  detecting  fraud  and  other  unlaw- 
ful practices,  it  was  acknowledged,  far  exceeded  the 
military  police.  Nothing  seemed  to  escape  them.  In- 
deed, it  was  often  said  their  adroitness  in  detection  was 
such  as  might  be  coveted  by  a  New  York  detective. 

They  were  frequently  called  upon  by  the  military 
authorities  to  accomplish  work  which  strictly  belonged 
to  the  soldier  police,  but  in  which  they  had  failed. 

It  was  a  matter  of  general  regret  that  there  was  no 
remuneration  provided  for  these  men,  who  had  so 
cheerfully  and  faithfully  served  the  country,  aiding  in 
establishing  order  where  otherwise  anarchy  might  have 
ensued. 


EDUCATIONAL  INTERESTS.  285 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

EDUCATIONAL    INTERESTS. 

OF  the  military  gentlemen  stationed  at  the  post  of 
Hilton  Head,  the  major  writes  thus  :  "In  addition 
to  these  high-toned  military  gentlemen,  already  named 
as  aiding  ine,  and  making  easy  as  well  as  pleasant  the 
duties  of  my  office  in  the  bureau,  I  with  pleasure  ac- 
knowledge my  indebtedness  to  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Thompson,  Assistant  Provost  Marshal  General,  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Bennett,  21st  United  States  Colored 
Troops,  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  O.  Moore,  who  ex- 
pelled John  Morgan  from  Ohio,  Colonel  Douglass 
Frazer,  of  the  104th  United  States  Colored  Troops, 
and  Brevet  Brigadier  General  Nye,  of  the  29th  Maine 
Volunteers,  all  commanding  at  the  post.  Captain  Hen- 
ry Sharpe,  of  the  21st  United  States  Colored  Troops, 
Lieutenant  Hermon,  Lieutenant  Tracy,  29th  Maine 
Volunteers,  and  Provost  Major  H.  E.  Whitfield,  128th 
United  States  Colored  Troops,  Assistant  Provost  Judg- 
es, and  Lieutenant  C.  F.  Richards,  21st  United  States 
Colored  Troops,  Assistant  Adjutant  General  Lieutenant 
Jones,  and  Lieutenant  Blanchard,  21st  United  States 
Colored  Troops,  and  that  excellent  gentleman,  now 
President  of  Florida  Land  and  Lumber  Company,  Dr. 
J.  M.  Havvkes,  Surgeon  21st  United  States  Colored 


286  LIFE  or  MAJOTC  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Troops.  It  is  due,  as  a  military  courtesy,  that  I  should 
make  this  record  of  the  names  of  gentlemen  who 
came  forward  at  a  time  when  most  required,  and  aided 
in  measures  so  important  to  the  new  life  upon  which  a 
large  portion  of  the  political  and  social  element  of  the 
nation  was  just  entering. 

As  bearing  a  close  relation  to  his  official  duties,  we 
give  in  this  connection  the  subjoined  correspondence, 
being  a  letter  of  thanks  from  that  distinguished«philan- 
thropist,  the  Rev.  George  Whipple,  formerly  professor 
of  mathematics  in  Oberlin  College,  in  behalf  of  the 
American  Missionary  Association.  This,  coming  from 
such  an  Association,  is  deemed  of  sufficient  importance 
to  show  the  general  character  of  the  major  in  whatev- 
er position  he  is  placed,  —  ever  untiring  in  his  efforts 
to  aid  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  unselfish  in  his  ainu 

NEW  YORK,  July  5,  1867. 
Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  Bureau  of  R.  F.  $  A.  L.,  Hilton  Head, 

South  Carolina. 

Dear  Major  :  Several  of  our  teachers  have  reported  your  at- 
tention to  their  interests,  and  many 'acts  of  kindness  in  minister- 
ing to  their  comfort. 

In  their  behalf  and  at  their  request,  and  in  the  behalf  and  at 
the  request  of  my  associates  in  these  rooms,  I  beg  of  you  to  ac- 
cept our  and  their  thanks  for  your  oft-repeated  kindnesses  to 
them,  and  your  continued  interest  in  our  great  work.  As  you 
have  given  them  more  —  "a  cup  of  cold  water  "  in  the  name  of 
a  disciple,  may  you  receive  a  disciple's  reward. 

Permit  me  to  add  the  assurance  that  I  take  great  pleasure  in 
being  the  agent  of  our  friends  in  this  matter.  My  cordial  thanks 
accompany  theirs. 

Yours  in  behalf  of  the  poor  and  needy, 

GEORGE  WHIPPLE, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 


EDUCATIONAL   INTERESTS.  287 

The  graceful  reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Association  is 
worthy  of  admiration,  replete  with  loyalty  and  grati- 
tude to  the  noble  band,  who  for  long  years  have  la- 
bored without  faltering  for  the  well  being  of  his  race. 

HEADQUARTERS  PROV.  DIST.,  HILTON  HEAD,  ) 
PORT  ROYAL,  S.  C.,  July  18,  1867.      $ 

Professor  GEORGE  WHIPPLE,  Cor.  Sec.  A.  M.  A.,  53  John  St., 
New  York. 

My  dq&r  Sir :  Your  very  kind  letter  in  behalf  of  the  teachers 
and  your  Christian  associates  in  the  rooms  of  your  great  insti- 
tution was  received  by  the  last  mail  here. 

Pe'rrnit  me  to  state  that  I  have  done  nothing  more,  in  my  atten- 
,tions  to  the  excellent  self-sacrificing  and  intelligent  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen continually  sent  to  this  district,  to  labor  for  the  moral  ele- 
vation of  my  once  oppressed  and  degraded,  but  now,  thank  God, 
disinthralled  brethren,  in  the  new  social  relations  which  this 
wonderful  dispensation  of  divine  Providence  has  brought  about 
in  fulfilment  of  his  promise,  and  the  promotion  of  his  own  glory, 
than  rny  simple  duty.  If  I  have  done  that,  I  shall  feel  satis- 
fied and  thankful. 

If  my  acts  have  been  worthy  of  their  and  your  acceptance,  I 
feel  that  I  may  have  done  something  feebly  in  return  towards 
repaying  the  long  years  of  untiring  labor,  anxiety,  hazard,  and 
pecuniary  loss  of  the  Phillipses,  Garrisons,  Whipples,  Browns, 
Motts,  McKifns,  Burleighs,  Wrights,  Pillsburys,  Fosters,  Leav- 
itts,  Wilsons,  Sumners,  Stevenses,  Hales,  Wades,  Giddingses, 
Whittiers,  Parkers,  Lovejoys,  the  Chases,  Pinneys,  Collinses, 
Cheevers,  Bellows,  Beechers,  Stowes,  Elders  Mahans,  Phinneys 
and  Tappans,  Ranking,  Joselyns,  Smiths,  Goodells,  and  Adamses, 
and  others  of  your  race,  for  the  outraged  and  down-trodden  of 
mine.  For  this  I  deserve  no  thanks.  But  in  my  heart  of  hearts 
I  not  only  thank  you  for  tender,  Christian-like  expressions  in 
conveying  to  me  their  sentiments,  but  in  return  for  the  patient 
endurance  of  yourself  and  such  as  those  named,  for  your  inces- 
sant labors  for  the  overthrow  of  American  slavery,  the  super- 
stition and  heathen  regeneration  and  civilization  of  foreign  lands, 


288  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

all  of  which  are  peopled  by  the  colored  races,  your  continued 
efforts  in  their  behalf,  and  the  elevation  of  man. 

Please  convey  to  the  teachers  and  your  Association  my  heart- 
felt gratitude  for  their  expressions  of  kindness  towards  me,  and 
accept  for  yourself,  dear  Professor,  my  highest  personal  regards 
and  esteem, 

M.  E.  DELANY. 

In  his  report  to  the  Assistant  Commissioner  of  the 
Bureau '  concerning  the  school  system,  the  reform 
which  he  advocated  was  not  without  deliberation,  as 
demonstrated  by  a  circumstance  in  his  own  experience. 
After  his  failures  in  authorship,  the  Central  American 
expedition  project,  and  railroad  improvement,  in  con- 
sequence of  all  being  attempted  at  the  same  time,  as  if 
to  redeem  that  unsuccessful  period  of  his  singularly 
active  life  of  its  appearance  of  uselessness,  a  position 
entirely  new  in  his  role  presented  itself. 

The  principalship  of  a  colored  school  was  offered  to 
him  by  a  committee  of  the  seventh  ward.  At  first  he 
declined,  as  he  contemplated  resuming  the  practice  of 
medicine,  his  legitimate  and  choice  profession.  But 
the  board  insisting,  as  the  school  by  law  was  compelled 
to  open  within  a  week,  and  no  teacher  had  been  se- 
cured, he  accepted  on  conditions  that  he  should  be  re- 
lieved in  one  month,  or  so  soon  as  a  teacher  could  be 
obtained. 

He  took  charge  at  once,  and  organized  what  was 
then  one  of  the  most  unmanageable  schools,  a  great 
portion  of  the  pupils  being  large  boys  and  girls.  The 
rules  laid  down  by  the  board  allowed  whipping,  while 
they  forbade  suspension  or  dismissal  of  the  pupils  from 
school.  To  flog  a  pupil,  he  alleged,  was  an  evidence  of 


EDUCATIONAL   INTERESTS.  289 

the  incapacity  for  governing  on  the  part  of  the  teacher, 
and  that  when  it  was  evident  a  pupil  could  not  be  re- 
strained without  resorting  to  such  measures,  he  was 
unfit  to  be  among  the  others. 

He  notified  the  directors  of  his  objections  to  their 
rule.  He  regarded  it  as  barbarous,  rendering  the 
school-house  repulsive  and  objectionable,  instead  of 
being  associated  with  pleasant  and  profitable  memo- 
ries. Jherefore,  if  they  desired  him  to  take  the  school, 
he  would  conduct  it  in  his  own  way. 

They  yielded  to  him  in  the  manner  of  government. 
This  resulted  in  binding  the  pupils  to  him  by  ties  of 
sincere  devotion,  and  he  remained  for  thirteen  months 
instead  of  the  one  month  agreed  upon  at  first.  When 
he  resigned,  it  was  a  source  of  regret  among  both 
pupils  and  directors.  Teaching,  though  he  loved, 
it  as  a  continual  medium  of  imparting  knowledge  to 
the  young,  yet  it  was  confining  him  to  a  sphere  too 
limited  for  the  grasp  of  his  desires.  In  this  capacity 
he  will  be  remembered  by  some  of  the  now  adult  in- 
habitants of  Pittsburg,  and  his  excellent  assistant,  now 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  professors  of  the  College  of 
Liberia. 

We  here  insert  a  portion  of  his  report  bearing  upon 
his  observation  of  the  schools  of  his  district,  and  an  ex- 
tract from  his  last  annual  report,  made  to  headquarters 
of  the  assistant  commissioner,  for  the  year  1867,  ending 
the  last  of  August,  the  close  of  the  planting  season.  The 
report  is  replete  with  suggestions,  and  equal  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  time.  If  the 'suggestions  made  be  car- 
ried out,  there  would  accrue  a  vast  amount  of  good, 
rendering  the  laborer  less  dependent  on  others,  and 
19 


290  LIFE  OF  MAJOII  M.  li.  DJULANY. 

more  frugal,  whereas,  in  pursuing  his  former  line  of 
labor,  he  was  kept  at  disadvantage  on  account  of 
the  expenses  to  be  kept  up  before  the  sale  of  cotton, 
the  staple,  in  the  cultivation  of  which  the  freedmen  use 
all  their  time,  money,  and  lalbor. 

Even  to  make  this  an  effective  and  self-sustaining  measure, 
the  local  habits  of  the  occupants  must  be  essentially  changed. 
Instead  of  the  former  old  plantation  people  remaining  on  the  places 
as  a  local  preference,  which  generally  allows  but  an  average  of 
five  (5)  acres  to  the  family,  the  lands  must  be  let  in  portions  of  not 
less  than  twenty  (20)  acres  to  each  family  before  they  can  be 
made  available  to  their  support.  This  would  necessitate  a  gener- 
al scattering,  or  greater  division  of  the  people,  causing  at  first 
quite  a  change  of  places  with  many.  To  do  justice  to  the  peo- 
ple as  an  available,  sociable,  or  domestic*  element,  no  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  farming  land  should  be  occupied  by  more  than  five 
(5)  families,  thus  allowing  twenty  (20)acres  to  the  family,  which, 
in  the  light  of  domestic  or  political  economy,  is  little  enough. 
Less  than  this  is  to  place  them  in  a  position  of  hazardous  un- 
certainty and  anxiety,  and  encourage  idleness  and  improvi- 
dence, by  inducing  the  thriftless  to  settle  under  circumstances 
which  must  make  them  burdensome  to  the  thrifty  and  provident. 
By  this  course  the  aged  and  otherwise  needy  and  deserving  help- 
less could  be  easily  aided  by  their  neighbors,  without,  as  now, 
being  over-burdensome. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  entire  system  of  cultivation  will 
have  to  be  changed,  both  in  the  method  of  doing  it,  and  more 
especially  the  produce  raised,  to  suit  and  meet  the  change  in  the 
social  system  and  the  demands  and  status  of  these  new  possess- 
ors and  permanent  residents  of  small  farms  or  gardens.  Every 
month  in  the  year  but  one  (December)  may  be  made  productive 
of  some  vegetable  for  provision,  or  family  use,  whereby  the  peo- 
ple may  be  independent  in  subsistence.  It  is  a  settled  matter 
that  in  this  country  cotton  can  only  be  profitably  produced  by 
extensive  cultivation  and  large  capital,  under  favorable  circum- 


EDUCATIONAL  INTERESTS.  291 

stances  ;  consequently  it  is  a  loss  of  time  and  labor  for  the  freed- 
men  to  plant  cotton  with  their  limited  means  of  land  and  mate- 
rials, as  the  ground  to  them  can  be  put  to  a  much  more  useful 
and  profitable  purpose. 

I  am  preparing  the  people  in  this  sub-district  to  this  end,  and 
believe  that  against  the  approaching  leasing  year  they  will  be 
quite  willing  and  ready  to  enter  into  the  new  system  of  habita- 
tion and  occupancy. 

During  the  current  year  there  have  been  no  rations  issued  in 
this  sub-district,  except  two  hundred  (200)  bushels  of  corn  from 
the  Southern  Relief  Association,  and  five  hundred  (500)  bush- 
els of  corn,  and  one  thousand  (1000)  pounds  of  bacon,  of  the 
Congressional  appropriation",  assigned  through  the  Commissary 
of  Subsistence  Bureau,  Charleston. 

The  example  and  precepts  of  the  teachers  have  been  such  as 
to  merit  my  most  hearty  approval.  But  there  is  one  custom  as 
yet  common  to  schools,  and  almost  regarded  as  an  essential 
part  of  training,  and  which  I  most  heartily  desire  should  be 
done  away  with.  I  refer  to  whipping  children  as  a  correction 
in  school.  It  is  simply  a  relic  of  ignorance,  and  should  not  be 
tolerated  by  intelligence.  And  while  this  is  tolerated,  teachers 
will  resort  to  it  as  the  easiest  and  to  them  least  troublesome 
mode  of  correction. 

A  teacher  either  is,  or  is  not,  adapted  to  teaching.  If  proper- 
ly adapted,  she  could  and  should  teach  without  whipping.  If 
she  cannot  correct  and  control  her  pupils  without  whipping," 
then  it  only  proves  that  she  is  not  adapted  to  teaching,  and 
all  such  should  seek  other  employment.  This  is  not  a  reflec- 
tion on  any  particular  teacher  or  teachers,  but  a  condemnation 
of  the  general  customs  of  schools.  A  school-house  should  be 
made  a  place  of  the  most  pleasurable  resort  and  agreeable  asso- 
ciations to  children,  but  certain  it  is  that  in  no  wise  can  this  be 
the  case  where  the  great  hickory,  thong,  leather  strap,  or  bridle- 
rein  meets,  as  it  enters  the  school-house,  the  child's  eye  as  it  does 
the  eye  of  the  visitor,  reminding  one,  as  it  must  the  other,  of 
entering  the  presence  of  the  old  plantation  overseer  in  waiting 
for  his  victim. 


292  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

CONCLUSION. 

THE  order  for  mustering  out  the  remaining  volun- 
teer officers  was  long  anticipated,  and  anxiously 
looked  for  by  these  officers,  and  by  none  more  than 
by  Major  Delany,  who,  as  sub-assistant  commissioner 
of  the  Bureau  district  of  Hilton  Head  would  be  af- 
fected by  this.  At  last  it  was  received,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  document.  While  upon  this  subject, 
a  humorous  anecdote,  bearing  on  this  subject,  may  be 
related. 

While  awaiting  the  order,  about  the  middle  of  De- 
cember, he  visited  the  headquarters  of  the  assistant 
commissioner  at  Charleston. 

On  entering  the  department  of  the  adjutant  general, 
a  group  of  officers  surrounded  the  desk  of  the  acting 
adjutant,  who,  at  the  time,  was  reading  out  the  names 
of  the  officers  mustered  out  by  special  orders,  which 
had  just  been  received  from  the  war  department  that 
morning,  erasing  them  from  the  roster  suspended  on 
the  wall  before  him,  among  which  was  his  own  name. 

"How  is  this,  major?"  asked  the  chief  clerk;  "I  do 
not  see  your  name  among  them.  Do  you  report  regu- 
larly?" 

"  I  do ;  my  report  for  this  month  was  sent  on  now 
more  than  ten  days,"  he  replied. 


CONCLUSION.  293 

"  How  is  it  that  you  are  not  among  these  named  in 
the  special  order  just  received  ?  "  inquired  the  acting 
assistant  adjutant  general,  with  much  interest. 

"I  suppose,"  said  the  major,  very  quaintly,  "  that  I 
am  in  the  position  of  the  old  black  man,  a  devoted  Sec- 
ond Ad  venter,  during  the  Millerite  excitement,  who,  dis- 
posing of  his  earthly  effects,  betook  himself  to  a  cellar, 
with  simply  food  and  fuel  sufficient  to  sustain  him 
comfortably,  the  season  being  winter.  While  waiting,  a 
snow  storm  came  on,  the  drift  completely  embanking 
that  side  of  the  street,  burying  everything  beneath  it. 

"  Thus  isolated,  and  enveloped  in  darkness  for  sev- 
eral days,  except  the  light  of  his  little  fire,  without  the 
sound  of  a  footstep  or  voice  above,  the  old  man  be- 
lieved that  the  final  consummation  of  all  things  had 
taken  place,  and  he  was  actually  left  in  his  tomb. 

"Presently  the  scavengers  reached  his  cellar  door, 
when,  first  hearing  footsteps,  succeeded  by  scraping  and 
prying,  then  light  ushering  in  through  the  cracks  as 
the  snow  was  removed.  Suddenly  bursting  up  the  cel- 
lar door,  the  old  man  exclaimed,  { Is  de  end  come  ? ' 
Being  answered  in  the  negative ,  '  O ! '  said  he,  '  I 
thought  de  end  was  come,  an'  all  you  white  folks  was 
gone  up,  an'  forgot  dis  old  black  saint.'  Now,"  con- 
cluded the  major,  turning  to  the  assistant  adjutant  gen- 
eral, "  I  suppose  de  end  is  come,  an'  all  you  white  folks 
is  gone  up,  an'  forgot  dis  black  saint,"  amidst  a  roar  of 
laughter  among  the  officers. 

A  few  days  after  this  an  order  came  from  Washing- 
ton, retaining  Brevet  Major  General  Scott  in  the  ser- 
vice, as  assistant  commissioner,  on  the  staff  of  Major 
General  Can  by,  commanding  the  Second  Military  Dis- 


294  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

trict,  by  whose  advice  and  generous  indorsement  the 
retention  of  Major  Delany  was  recommended  to  Gen- 
eral Canby,  and  by  which  he  has  been  retained  in  the 
service. 

Thus,  in  addition  to  the  established  duties  of  his 
office,  he  is  now  the  disbursing  officer  of  soldiers' 
claims  for  the  sub-district  of  Hilton  Head. 

This  is  another  testimony,  as  exhibited  by  different 
commanders,  of  the  ability  and  usefulness  of  this. offi- 
cer in  retaining  him.  But  while  fully  appreciating 
these  repeated  recognitions  of  his  service  to  the  govern- 
ment by  these  high  officials,  giving  it  the  full  value  of  its 
civil  and  political  worth,  construing  it  to  a  desire  of 
recognizing  the  true  status  of  the  colored  race  as  Amer- 
ican citizens  by  the  continuance  of  their  only  repre- 
sentative, as  an  incumbent  and  military  officer  in  this 
prominent  and  honorable  position  of  the  government, 
Major  Delany  says,  "By  this  change  or  modification  in 
its  jurisdiction  the  Bureau  loses  nothing,  but  otherwise 
its  status  and  prestige  is  thereby  enhanced. 

"  Previous  to  this  an  important  difficulty  presented 
itself.  A  large  force  of  volunteer  officers  must  be  kept 
up  in  a  time  of  peace,  —  which  is  contrary  to  the  juris- 
prudence of  all  highly  civilized  nations,  —  or  the  vol- 
unteer officers  must  be  mustered  out,  and  thus  leave  an 
important  arm  of  the  war  department  without  the 
necessary  administrative  government. 

"To  impose  the  duties  of  the  Bureau  on  the  officers 
of  the  regular  army,  would  be  to  entail  duties  which 
they  could  not  care  to  have  upon  them,  and,  there- 
fore, for  the  most  part,  neglect.  To  employ  civilians, 
would  bring  them  directly  under  the  military  men. 


CONCLUSIOX.  295 

wholly  ignorant  of  the  details,  import,  and  meaning  of 
military  orders  and  duties.  To  employ  those  who  have 
been  commissioned  officers  in  the  service,  competent 
for  the  duties,  would  involve  an  expense  equal,  at  least, 
to  that  already  incurred  by  the  volunteer  officers  now 
on  duty. 

"  The  only  course  left  the  government  in  carrying  out 
the  well-regulated  custom  'of  reducing  the  army  to  a 
true  peace  basis,  by  doing  away  with  an  independent 
volunteer  force  in  time  of  peace,  was  to  place  the 
bureau  under  the  regular  army. 

"  This  virtually  places  Major  General  O.  O.  Howard 
on  the  staff  of  General  Grant ;  Brevet  Major  General 
R.  K.  Scott,  and  all  other  assistant  commissioners,  de 
facto,  on  the  staffs  of  the  major  generals  commanding 
the  military  districts ;  brings  the  entire  volunteer  offi- 
cers, retained  in  the  service,  under  and  subject  to,  with- 
out being  in,  the  regular  army ;  and  cements  a  perfect 
harmony  between  these  two  branches  of  the  govern- 
ment which  nothing  can  detract.' 

"  In  this  stride  of  statesmanship,  will  it  be  presumed 
that  the  American  army,  or  the  military  branch  of  the 
government,  has  no  statesmen  as  competent  counsel- 
lors, of  the  executive  ?  " 


HEADQUARTERS  SECOND  MILITARY  DISTRICT,  > 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  December  4,  1867.      > 

General  Orders.     No.  140. 

The  following  general  orders,  from  the  headquarters  of  the 
army,  are  republished  for  the  information  and  guidance  of  all 
concerned. 


296  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 


HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,  ADJT.  GEN.  OFFICE,  > 
WASHINGTON,  November  26,  18G7.      > 

General  Orders.     No.  101. 

The  following  orders  have  been  received  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment, and  will  be  duly  executed  :  — 

Extract. 

Par.  III.  All  volunteer  officers  now  retained  in  service  will 
be  mustered  out,  to  take  effect  January  1,  1868,  except  the  com- 
missioner and  the  disbursing  officers  of  the  Bureau  of  Refu- 
gees, Freedmen,  and  Abandoned  Lands. 

By  command  of  General  GRANT. 

E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

By  command  of 

Brevet  Major  General  ED.  K.  S.  CANBY. 

Official.  Louis  V.  CAZIARC, 

Aid- de-  Camp,  Acfg  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 


HEADQUARTERS  SECOND  MILITARY  DISTRICT,  > 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  December  6,  1867.      ) 

General  Orders.     No.  145. 

The  following  arrangement  of  the  troops  in  this  district  will 
be  carried  into  effect  with  as  little  delay  as  possible. 

« 

Extract. 

In  addition  to  duties  with  which  they  are  charged  by  existing 
orders,  commanding  officers  of  posts  are  designated  as  sub- 
assistant  commissioners  of  the  Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen, 
and  Abandoned  Lands,  for  the  districts  embraced  within  the  terri- 
torial limits  of  their  commands,  and  will  exercise  all  the  func- 
tions of  officers  of  that  bureau,  except  so  far  as  relates  to  the 
administration  and  control  of  the  funds  or  property  of  the  bureau. 


297 
Extract. 

All  officers  and  agents  of  the  bureau,  who  may  be  on  duty 
within  the  territorial  limits  of  any  post,  will  report  to  its  com- 
mander, and  will  be  governed  by  his  instructions  in  all  that  re- 
lates to  the  protection  of  persons  and  property,  under  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  the  regulations  of  the  bureau,  and  the 
orders  of  the  district  commander.  In  all  that  relates  to  the 
details  of  administration,  they  will  report  as  heretofore  to  the 
assistant  commissioner  for  the  state  in  which  they  are  stationed. 
The  assistant  commissioners  for  the  States  of  North  and  South 
Carolina,  respectively,  will  furnish  the  commanders  of  posts 
with  the  names  and  stations  of  the  officers  and  agents  of  the 
bureau  on  duty  within  the  limits  of  their  respective  commands, 
and  with  a  statement  of  any  special  duties  they  may  have  been 
charged  with  in  relation  to  the  protection  of  person  and  prop- 
erty. They  will  also,  by  conference  or  correspondence  with  the 
post  commander,  determine  what  officers  or  agents  of  the  bureau 
can  be  relieved  or  discharged,  and  report  the  same  to  district 
headquarters. 

By  command  of 

Brevet  Major  General  ED.  R.  S.  CANBT. 

Official.  Louis  V.  CAZIARC, 

Aid-de-Camp,  Acfg  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 


HEADQUARTERS  ASST.  COMR.  BUREAU  REFUGEES,      \ 
FREEDMEN,  AND  ABANDONED  LANDS,  DISTRICT  OF  S.  C.,  > 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  December  19,  1867. 

Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  Asst.  Sub-Asst.  Comr. 

Major :  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  general  orders 
No.  145,  C.  S.,  Second  Military  District,  I  am  directed  by  the 
assistant  commissioner  to  inform  you  that  your  designation  and 
limits  of  your  district  are  as  follows  :  — 

You  will  hereafter  be  designated  as  Assistant  Sub-Assistant 
Commissioner  for  Hilton  Head,  Savage,  Bull,  Dawfuskie,  Pinck- 
ney,  and  Long  Pine  Islands,  and  will  report  to  Brevet  Brigadier 


298  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

General  H.  B.  Glitz,  port  of  Charleston,  and  sub-assistant  com- 
missioner, subject  to  existing  orders  and  instructions. 
I  am,  major,  very  respectfully, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

EDWARD  L.  DEANE, 
Brevet  Major,  A.  D.  C.,  $  A.  A.  A.  Gen. 

HEADQUARTERS  ASST.  COMR.  BUREAU  REFUGEES,  \ 

FREEDMEN,  AND  ABANDONED  LANDS,  DIST.  OF  S.  C.,      >• 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  February  8,  1868.  ) 

Major  M.  R.  DELANY,  Acting  Sub-Assistant 

Commissioner,  Hilton  Head,  S.  C. 

Major :  The  following  copy  of  indorsement  from  War  De- 
partment, Adjutant  General's  Office,  dated  January  28,  1868,  is 
respectfully  furnished  for  your  information. 

Respectfully  returned  to  Major  General  O.  0.  Howard,  Com- 
missioner. Major  M.  R.  Delany,  104th  United  States  Colored 
Troops,  having  been  reported  in  your  letter  of  November  30, 
1867,  as  on  duty  in  the  Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen,  and 
Abandoned  Lands,  as  a  disbursing  officer,  was  retained  in  service 
under  the  provisions  of  General  Orders  101,  November  26,  1867, 
from  this  office. 

(Signed)  THOJUAS  M.  VINCENT, 

Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  NEIDE, 

Brevet  Major,  1st  Lieut.  44th  Infantry^ 
AcVg  Asst.  Adjt.  Gen. 

With  this  last  order  we  will  bring  this  volume  to  a 
close.  We  have  endeavored  to  narrate  the  career  of 
an  individual  of  our  time,  living  and  still  working  in 
our  midst,  the  extent  of  whose  labors,  and  the  great 
ability  demonstrated  in  their  execution,  cannot  be  thor- 
oughly understood  or  felt,  without  first  having  known 


CONCLUSION.  299 

the  great  struggle  and  anxiety  entailed  in  its  accom- 
plishment. This  we  have  attempted  to  give,  but  found 
it  no  easy  task ;  therefore  we  have  simply  narrated  the 
events  of  his  singularly  active  life,  allowing  the  reader 
to  deduce  his  own  comments. 

At  this  writing,  Major  Delany  is  still  in  the  service 
of  the  government,  as  sub-assistant  commissioner  of 
the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  while  many  of  the  volunteer 
officers  have  been  mustered  out,  under  order  of  the  de- 
partment at  Washington. 

In  his  retention,  is  shown  the  recognition  and 
the  thorough  appreciation  of  the  indefatigable  zeal  and 
great  ability  displayed  by  the  black  officer,  especially  as 
in  conjunction  with  his  former  duties  others,  in  which 
greater  responsibilities  are  entailed,  are  assigned  to 
him.  His  efficient  labors  in  the  department  render  him 
a  distinct  character  from  his  surroundings,  while  his 
administrative  qualities  attract  the  attention  of  friends 
and  foes  alike,  as  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  his 
race  in  this  country.  While  comments  may  vary,  they 
unite  in  saying,  "  There  is  still  a  latent  amount  of 
greatness  within  the  man,  which  has  not  yet  been  called 
forth." 

To  his  lofty  aspirations,  and  great  originality  of 
thoughts,  together  with  his  real  earnestness  in  every- 
thing he  undertakes,  and  his  iron  will  to  pursue  to 
completion,  we  trace  the  secret  of  his  success  in  this 
field. 

Illustrating  in  his  career  entire  personal  sacrifice  for 
the  accomplishment  of  a  grand  purpose,  no  character 
has  been  produced  by  our  civilization  in  comparison 
with  which  this  remarkable  man  would  be  deemed 


LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

inferior.  Men  have  died  for  the  freedom  and  eleva- 
tion of  the  race,  and  thereby  have  contributed  more  to 
advance  the  cause  than  would  their  living  efforts,  while 
others  have  lived  for  it,  and  under  circumstances  where 
death  would  have  been  easier.  Such  describes  Martin 
Delany.  Nature  marked  him  for  combat  and  victory, 
and  not  for  martyrdom.  His  life-long  service,  from 
which  neither  poverty  nor  dangers  could  deter  him,  his 
great  vitality  and  energy  under  all  and  every  circum- 
stance, which  have  never  abated,  proclaim  this  truth. 
His  life  furnishes  a  rare  enthusiasm  for  race  not  ex- 
pected in  the  present  state  of  American  society, 
occasioned  by  his  constant  researches  into  anything 
relative  to  their  history.  No  living  man  is  better  able 
to  write  the  history  of  the  race,  to  whom  it  has  been  a 
constant  study,  than  he ;  as  it  is  considered  by  the  most 
earnest  laborers  in  the  same  sphere  that  few,  if  any, 
among  them,  have  so  entirely  consecrated  themselves 
to  the  idea  of  race  as  his  career  shows.  His  religion, 
his  writings,  every  step  in  life,  is  based  upon  this  idea. 
His  creed  begins  and  ends  with  it  —  that  the  colored 
race  can  only  obtain  their  true  status  as  men,  by  rely- 
ing on  their  own  identity ;  that  they  must  prove,  by 
merit,  all  that  white  men  claim  ;  then  color  would  cease 
to  be  an  objection  to  their  progress  —  that  the  blacks 
must  take  pride  in  being  black,  and  show  their  claims 
to  superior  qualities,  before  the  whites  would  be  willing 
to  concede  them  equality.  This  he  claims  as  the  foun- 
dation of  his  manhood.  Upon  this  point  Mr.  Fred- 
erick Douglass  once  wittily  remarked,  "  Delany  stands 
so  straight  that  he  leans  a  little  backward." 

Such  is  the  personal  history  of  an  individual  of  the 


CONCLUSION.  oOt 

race,  whose  great  strength  of  character,  amid  the  mul- 
titudinous agencies  adverse  to  his  progress,  has  tri- 
umphantly demonstrated  negro  capability  for  greatness 
in  every  sphere  wherein  he  has  acted. 

The  late  revolution  has  resulted  in  bringing  the  race 
to  which  he  belongs  into  prominence.  They  have 
begun  their  onward  march  towards  that  higher  civiliza- 
tion promised  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Let  no  unhal- 
lowed voice  be  lifted  to  stay  their  progress ;  then,  with 
all  barriers  removed,  the  glorious  destiny  promised  to 
them  can  be  achieved.  And  then  our  country,  continu- 
ing to  recognize  merit  alone  in  her  children,  as  shown 
in  the  appointment  of  the  black  major  of  Carolina, 
will  add  renewed  strength  to  her  greatness.  Begirt 
with  loyal  hearts  and  strong  arms,  the  mission  of 
our  revolution  shall  embrace  centuries  in  its  march,  se- 
curing the  future  stability  of  our  country,  and  proclaim- 
ing with  truthfulness  the  grandeur  of  republican  insti- 
tutions to  the  civilization  of  Christendom. 


APPENDIX. 


POLITICAL    WRITINGS. 

HAVING  given  thus  far,  in  a  most  impartial  man- 
ner, the  services  of  Major  Delany ;  endeavor- 
ing to  concede  all  that  rightfully  belongs  to  him, 
without  debarring  others  of  their  dues-;  claiming,  as  we 
have  in  this  work,  for  him  always  an  advanced  posi- 
tion; to  bear  out  this  statement  more  fully,  we  add 
some  selections  from  his  published  political  works,  which 
will  show  that  his  administration  in  a  military  capacity 
but  reflected  the  brilliancy  kindled  about  the  civilian. 
.  The  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  greater  portion 
of  the  writings  is,  that  they  constitute  the  present  es- 
sential principles  which  form  the  basis  of  the  recon- 
struction of  the  South,  and  ultimately  for  the  nation  at 
large.  These  are  definitely  and  significantly  expressed 
in  paragraphs  6th,  7th,  8th,  10th,  12th,  18th,  and  22d 
of  the  Platform  or  Declaration  of  Sentiments,  and  also 
in  his  paper  on  the  Political  Destiny  of  the  Colored 
Races,  &c. 

These  are  the  writings  to  which  reference  has  been 
previously  made,  and  were  presented  before,  and  adopt- 
ed by  the  Cleveland  Convention  of  1854,  without  mod- 
ification of  any  kind. 

(303) 


304  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

On  the  appearance  of  these,  numerous  comments 
were  drawn  from  the  leading  daily  journals  of  the  coun- 
try. From  the  Pittsburg  Daily  Post,  of  October  18, 
1854  (a  pro-slavery  paper),  we  quote  the  following:  — 

"Dr.  M.  R.  Delany,  of  Pittsburg,  was  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  that  made  this  report  to  the  conven- 
tion. It  was,  of  course,  adopted.  If  Dr.  D.  drafted 
this  report,  it  certainly  does  him  much  credit  for  learn- 
ing and  ability,  and  cannot  fail  to  establish  for  him  a 
reputation  for  vigor  and  briHiancy  of  imagination  never 
yet  surpassed."  Not  being  able  to  continue  long  in 
this  vein,  it  concludes :  "  It  is  a  vast  conception,  of 
impossible  birth.  The  committee  seem  entirely  to  have 
overlooked  the  strength  of  the  'powers  on  the  earth' 
that  would  oppose  the  Africanization  of  more  than 
half  the  western  hemisphere." 

In  their  singular  adaptability  to  the  extraordinary 
events  now  challenging  the  highest  intelligence  of  the 
land  for  their  permanent  adjustment,  they  will  be  regard- 
ed as  reflecting  no  ordinary  credit  on  the  colored  race 
for  one  of  their  number  to  adduce  such  thoughts  as  are 
contained  in  these  on  National  Polity  and  Individual 
Rights,  published  as  they  were  some  thirteen  years  ago, 
hence  prior  to  the  present  discussions  upon  the  new  is- 
sues. While  the  position  he  claimed  and  sentiments 
expressed  are  most  thoroughly  anti-slavery,  they  are 
unlike  in  their  issues,  and  manner  of  presenting  such, 
as  well  as  far  in  advance  of  the  then  most  radical,  with 
few  noble  exceptions,  and  now  in  harmony  with  the 
requirements  of  the.  times.  Then  they  were  looked 
upon  as  extremely  impracticable  measures  and  senti- 
ments. Now  they  will  testify  to  the  fitness  of  the  col- 


POLITICAL  WRITINGS.  305 

ored  people  for  the  present  right  they  claim ;  as  these 
issues,  instead  of  finding  them  unprepared,  as  their  po- 
litical enemies  proclaim,  it  has  found  theories  promul- 
gated by  a  black  representative,  standing  in  the  midst 
of  this  mighty  political  combat,  side  by  side  with  the 
most  advanced  of  his  white  brothers  on  either  con- 
tinent. 

Whatever  the  seeming  tenor  of  the  advice  and  feel- 
ings which  thrill  through  these  productions,  it  should 
be  remembered  they  were  written  at  a  time  when  the 
present  state  of  the  country  was  scarcely  expected  to 
be  realized,  in  our  age,  even  by  the  radicals ;  penned 
within  sight  of  slave  renditions  into  bondage,  when  his 
manhood  was  humiliated  by  the  legal  ordeal  under 
which  the  colored  people  of  the  United  States  were 
placed  by  that  most  infamous  of  enactments,  the  Fugi* 
tive  Slave  Law. 

After  the  publication  of  his  paper  on  the  Destiny  of 
the  Colored  Race  in  America,*  a  committee,  selected  for 
the  purpose,  sent  a  copy  to  each  member  of  the  Congress, 
of  which  Mr.  Frank  Blair  was  a  member,  he  having 
acknowledged  its  receipt  by  letter  to  Mr.  J.  M.  Whit- 
field,  one  of  the  committee,  and  in  which  he  broached 
the  subject  he  afterwards  made  the  theme  of  his  lec- 
ture which  surprised  the  country  from  the  boldness  of 
the  position  taken.  By  comparing  the  scheme  put 
forth  during  the  year  1844-5,  in  favor  of  Central  and 
South  American  emigration,  and  the  brilliant  effort  of 
Mr.  Frank  P.  Blair  in  its  behalfj  including  his  great  lec- 
ture before  the  Boston  Lyceum,  we  venture  to  assume 
that  it  was  suggested  by  the  paper  herein  presented. 

*  See  page  327. 
20 


306  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

In  the  recent  report  of  his  African  explorations,  the 
following  curious  document  we  quote,  as  among  his  po- 
litical works.  To  the  discerning  historical  reader  it 
will  be  read  with  interest,  while  its  significance  will 
become  in  time  more  appreciable. 

African   Commission. 

The  president  and  officers  of  the  General  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners, viz.,  W.  H  Day,  A.  M.,  President,  Matisen  F.  Bailey, 
Vice-President,  George  W.  Brodie,  Secretary,  James  Madison 
Bell,  Treasurer,  Alfred  Whipple,  Auditor,  Dr.  Martin  R.  Delany, 
Special  Foreign  Secretary,  Abram  D.  Shadd,  James  Henry 
Harris,  and  Isaac  D.  Shadd,  the  executive  council  in  behalf  of 
the  organization  for  the  promotion  of  the  political  and  other  in- 
terests of  the  colored  inhabitants  of  North  America,  particularly 
the  United  States  and  Canada. 

,  To  all  unto  whom  these  letters  may  come,  greeting :  The 
said  General  Board  of  Commissioners,  in  executive  council  as- 
sembled, have  this  day  chosen,  and  by  these  presents  do  hereby 
appoint  and  authorize  Dr.  Martin  Robison  Delany,  of  Chatham 
County  of  Kent,  Province  of  Canada,  Chief  Commissioner,  and 
Robert  Douglass,  Esq.,  Artist,  and  Professor  Robert  Campbell, 
Naturalist,  both  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  to  be  Assistant  Commissioners ;  Amos  Aray, 
Surgeon,  and  James  W.  Prinnel,  Secretary  and  Commercial  Re- 
porter, both  of  Kent  County,  Canada  West,  of  a  scientific  corps, 
to  be  known  by  the  name  of 

The  Niger   Valley  Exploring  Party. 

The  object  of  this  expedition  is  to  make  a  topographical,  geo- 
logical, and  geographical  examination  of  the  Valley  of  the  River 
Niger,  in  Africa,  and  an  inquiry  into  the  state  and  condition  of 
the  people  of  that  valley,  and  other  parts  of  Africa,  together 
with  such  other  scientific  inquiries  as  may  by  them  be  deemed 
expedient,  for  the  purposes  of  science,  and  for  general  informa- 
tion ;  and  without  any  reference  to,  and  with  the  board  being 


AFRICAN  EXPLORATIONS.  307 

entirely  opposed  to,  any  emigration  there  as  such.  Provided, 
however,  that  nothing  in  this  instrument  be  so  construed  as  to 
interfere  with  the  right  of  the  commissioners  to  negotiate,  in 
their  own  behalf,  or  that  of  any  other  parties  or  organization,  for 
territory. 

The  Chief  Commissioner  is  hereby  authorized  to  add  one  or 
more  competent  commissioners  to  their  number,  it  being  agreed 
and  understood  that  this  organization  is,  and  is  to  be,  exempted 
from  the  pecuniary  responsibility  of  sending  out  this  expedition. 

Dated  at  the  office  of  the  Executive  Council,  Chatham,  Coun- 
ty of  Kent,  Province  of  Canada,  this  thirtieth  day  of  August,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-eight. 

By  the  President, 

WILLIAM  HOWARD  DAY. 

ISAAC  D.  SHADD,  Vice- President.* 

GEORGE  W.  BRODIE,  Secretary. 

While  the  Commission  is  worthy  of  a  place  among 
his  political  writings,  the  next  in  order,  and  of  equal 
importance,  furnishing  another  evidence  of  his  adapta- 
bility to  circumstances,  the  essential  characteristic  to 
his  success,  as  well  as  that  which  has  always  been  the 
secret  of  the  success  of  all  men  in  public  life,  is  his 
treaty  made  with  the  king  and  chiefs  of  Abbeokuta,  in 
view  of  advancing  the  future  prosperity  of  his  father- 
land. We  give  the  treaty,  extracted  from  page  35th 
of  his  "  Official  Report." 

The    Treaty. 

This  treaty,  made  between  His  Majesty  Okukenu,  Alake, 
Somoye,  Ibashorum,  Sokenu,  Ogubonna,  ami  Atambola,  Chiefs, 
and  Balaguns  of  Abbeokuta,  on  the  first  part,  and  Martin 
Robison  Delany,  and  Robert  Campbell,  of  the  Niger  Valley  Ex- 

*  Mr.  Shadd  was  elected'Vice-President  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Bailey,  who  left  the  Province  for  New  Caledonia. 


308  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

ploring  Party,  commissioners  from  the  African  race  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  theCanadas,  in  America,  on  the  second  part,  cov- 
enants : 

Art.  1.  That  the  king  and  chiefs,  on  their  part,  agree  to 
grant  and  assign  unto  the  said  commissioners,  on  behalf  of  the 
African  race  in  America,  the  right  and  privilege  of  settling,  in 
common  with  the  Egda  people,  on  any  part  of  the  territory  be- 
longing to  Abbeokuta  not  otherwise  occupied. 

Art.  2.  That  all  matters  requiring  legal  investigation  among 
settlers  be  left  to  themselves,  to  be  disposed  of  according  to 
their  own  custom. 

Art.  3.  That  the  commissioners,  on  their  part,  also  agree 
that  the  settlers  shall  bring  with  them,  as  an  equivalent  for  the 
privileges  above  accorded,  intelligence,  education,  a  knowledge 
of  the  arts  and  sciences,  agriculture,  and  other  mechanical  and 
industrial  occupations,  which  they  shall  put  into  immediate  oper- 
ation, by  improving  the  lands,  and  in  other  usefulavocations. 

Art.  4.  That  the  laws  of  the  Egba  people  shall  be  strictly 
respected  by  the  settlers ;  and,  in  all  matters  in  which  both  par- 
ties are  concerned,  an  equal  number  of  commissioners,  mutually 
agreed  upon,  shall  be  appointed,  who  shall  have  power  to  settle 
such  matters. 

As  a  pledge  of  our  faith,  and  sincerity  of  our  hearts,  we 
each  of  us  hereunto  affix  our  hand  and  seal,  this  twenty-seventh 
day  of  December,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
fifty-nine. 

His  Mark,  X  OKUKENU,  ALAKE, 
His  Mark,  X   SOMOYE,  IBASHORUM, 
His  Mark,  X   SOKENU,  BALAGUN, 
His  Mark,  X   OGUBONNA,  BALAGUN, 
His  Mark,  X  ATAMBALA,  BALAGUN, 
His  Mark,  X  OGUSEYE,  ARIABA, 
His  Mark,  X  AGTABO,  BALAGUN,  0.  S.  0. 
His  Mark,  X  OGUDEMU,  AGEOKI, 
M.  E.  DELANY, 
ROBERT  CAMPBELL. 
Witness,  SAMUEL  CROWTHER,  Jun. 
Attest,      SAMUEL  CROWTHER,  Sen. 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  WAR.  309 

Says  the  report  on  the  Niger  Valley  Exploration, 
u  On  the  next  evening,  the  28th,  the  king,  with  the 
executive  council  of  chiefs  and  elders,  met  at  the 
palace  in  Aka,  when  the  treaty  was  ratified  by  a  unani- 
mous approval.  Such  general  satisfaction  ran  through 
the  council,  that  the  great  chief,  his  highness  Ogubonna, 
mounting  his  horse,  then  at  midnight,  hastened  to  the 
residence  of  the  surgeon  Growth  er,  aroused  the  father, 
the  missionary,  and  author,  and  hastily  informed  him  of 
the  action  of  the  council. 

An  event  of  revenge,  from  prejudice  to  his  race,  was 
of  great  personal  loss  to  himself,  occasioned  by  the  burn- 
ing of  Wilberforce  College,  the  first  and  only  thoroughly 
literary  institution  of  that  capacity  owned  and  con- 
trolled solely  by  the  colored  people  of  this  country.  This 
happened  on  the  memorable  night  of  the  14th  of  April, 
1866 ;  he  having  had  in  the  third  story  of  the  right 
wing  of  the  edifice  a  room  as  a  depository  of  valu- 
ables, among  which  were  his  entire  collection  of  Afri- 
can curiosities,  collected  during  his  tour,  together  with 
his  entire  European  and  African  correspondence,  and 
that  with  distinguished  Americans  after  his  return  home. 
In  this  conflagration  it  was  a  loss  entailed  to  him, 
never  to  be  remedied,  as  these  were  the  collections  of 
twenty  years.  Besides  correspondence,  there  were 
manuscripts,  by  which  we  are  deprived  of  some  of  his 
finest  productions. 

The  following  papers  are  of  a  recent  date :  — 

Reflections  on  the  War. 

One  important  fact  developed  during  this  gigantic  civil  war, 
and  which  could  not  have  escaped  the  general  and  mature  intel- 
ligent observer  as  a  result  of  the  struggle,  and  so  contrary  to 


310  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

concessions  under  the  old  relations'  of  the  Union,  is,  that  no 
great  statesmen  were  produced  on  the  part  of  the  South; 
although  at  the  commencement,  at  the  Montgomery  Convention, 
or  Provisional  Congress,  August,  1861,  their  independence  was 
declared,  and  consequently  must  have  been  fully  matured,  not 
a  measure  was  put  forth  of  national  import  to  sustain  their 
cause,  except  the  issue  of  the  cotton  bonds  thrown  upon  the  for- 
eign market  —  a  cheat  so  consistent  with  the  Mississippi  bond 
repudiation  of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  de- 
termine the  source  of  that  financial  scheme,  which,  of  itself,  was 
an  ordinary  commercial  measure,  of  every-day  transaction,  en- 
larged to  meet  the  occasion,  of  a  "  national  want.". 

Previous  to  the  war,  it  was  generally  conceded  that  by  far  the 
ablest  statesmen  in  the  service  of  the  nation  came  from  the 
South.  And  doubtless  this  may  have  been  so,  for  a  long  period 
of  the  government,  after  the  close  of  the  revolutionaiy  struggle ; 
because,  the  people  of  the  North,  caring  for  little  else  than  busi- 
ness, of  personal  interests,  and  local  legislation,  few  men  could 
be  found  among  them  willing  to  devote  more  than  one  term  in 
Congress,  or  the  executive  departments  of  the  government;  while 
the  policy  of  the  South  was  to  continue  the  same  men  as  long  as 
possible  in  the  councils,  in  consequence  of  their  domestic  rela- 
tions affording  them  ample  time  and  leisure  in  their  absence 
from  home  to  mature  their  plans  of  ascendency. 

During  the  revolutionary  period,  which  may  be  reckoned  from 
the  Albany  Continental  Congress,  in  1754,  to  the  Peace  Con- 
gress at  Ghent,  1814,  both  grand  political  divisions,  north  and 
south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  show  with  equal  brilliancy  in 
the  national  forum. 

After  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  gradually  the 
leading  spirits  passed  away,  either  by  death  or  withdrawal  from 
public  life,  till  Clay,  Calhoun,  Adams,  and  Benton  appeared  for 
many  years  as  the  only  dependence  of  the  country  in  questions 
and  measures  of  great  national  import. 

These  master  spirits  continued  their  career  till  they,  in  turn, 
one  by  one,  left  the  stage  of  action,  the  last  terminating  in  1852, 
by  the  death  of  Mr.  Webster. 

Of  this  galaxy,  the  Hons.  John  Quincy  Adams,  of  the  House 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  WAR.  311 

of  Representatives,  and  Henry  Clay,  of  the  Senate,  were  the 
leaders  of  international  measures ;  Senators  Daniel  Webster  and 
Thomas  H.  Benton,  those  of  national  import;  ^\hile  Senator 
John  C.  Calhoun  was  especially  confined  to  that  of  state  rights 
sovereignty.  During  the  existence  of  these,  there  were  other 
men  of  note  and  distinction,  all  of  whom  have  left  the  stage  of 
action.  Of  the  great  personages  above  named,  all,  excepting 
Senator  Benton,  have  held  the  portfolio  of  first  minister  of  state ; 
and  it  is  notorious,  that  although  Senator  Calhoun's  was  under 
President  James  K.  Polk,  1844,  a  period-  most  auspicious  for  the 
display  of  statesmanship,  as  great  and  vital  questions  of  national 
and  international  polity  were  prominent  before  the  country  and 
the  world,  —  such  as  the  extension  of  territory,  and  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas,  —  not  a  measure  was  put  forth  by  Mr.  Calhoun  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion  and  the  times.  Indeed,  that 
senator,  outside  of  "state  sovereignty"  and  South  Carolina,  as 
history  bears  witness,  as  a  statesman,  was  a  failure. 

The  social  polity  of  the  North  being  based  upon  labor,  and 
that  of  the  South  on  leisure,  depending  on  slave  labor  for 
maintenance,  as  an  almost  natural  consequence,  the  North 
neglected  as  much  as  possible  places  of  honor  in  the  nation,  —  the 
army,  and  navy,  —  conceding  these,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  all 
good  faith,  to  its  brethren  of  the  South.  In  good  faith  the  con- 
cession was  certainly  made,  because  the  North  then  as  heartily 
approved  of  slavery  as  the  South. 

Foreign  intervention  being  permanently  settled,  and  no  longer 
any  dread  of  a  common  enemy,  the  South  accepted  the  indifference 
of  the  North,  and  commenced  preparations  for  her  own  indepen- 
dence. This  was  probably  maturing  shortly  after  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans  (1815),  till  the  election  of  James  Buchanan,  185G ; 
or,  more  historically,  from  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  1814,  to  the 
Ostend  Congress,  in  1854. 

When  the  civil  war  commenced,  it  was  alarmingly  apparent 
that  the  South  had  by  far  the  best  officers,  the  North  having  few 
trustworthy,  or  those  of  military  experience.  And  while  the 
army  was  routed,  and  the  enemy  gaining  strength  at  home  and 
abroad,  the  masterly  ability  of  statesmanship  of  the  North  not 
only  challenged  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  world  by  the 


312  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

wisdom  of  the  great  executive  head  of  the  government,  but  in- 
tricate questions  of  the  greatest  international  policy  were  raised, 
met,  sustained,  and  established ;  military  and  financial  measures 
created  by  the  ministers  of  state,  war,  and  the  treasury,  never 
yet  equalled  by  any  nation. 

During  the  time  immediately  succeeding  the  revolutionary 
period,  —  from  1815  to  1851,  —  with  the  exception  of  representa- 
tives from  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  and  Delaware,  in  the 
persons  of  Hons.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Henry  Clay,  Reverdy 
Johnson,  and  John  M.  Clayton,  every  great  measure  of  national 
interest  was  represented  by  gentlemen  of  the  North.  So  com- 
pletely had  the  state  rights  question  engrossed  the  attention  of 
the  South,  that  nothing  could  be  elicited  in  the  halls  of  Congress 
from  that  side  of  the  house,  of  whatever  import  the  question, 
but  "  Old  Dominion"  and  "  first  families,"  "  South  Carolina  and 
state  rights,"  "  Georgia  and  negro  slaves,"  "  Alabama  and  cot- 
ton," "  Louisiana,  slaves,  and  sugar,"  "  Mississippi  negro  trad- 
ers," "  Arkansas  and  amen  with  abolition,"  "  Texas  and  bowie 
knives."  These  appeared  to  be  the  only  rejoinders  given,  and 
arguments  made  for  many  years  past,  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation,  by  representatives  from  the  South. 

Absorbed  entirely  in  the  one  erroneous  idea  of  state  sover- 
eignty, thinking  of  nothing  besides  this,  neither  fearing  nor 
caring  for  anything  else,  then  is  a  degeneracy  in  statesmanship 
much  to  be  wondered  at  on  the  part  of  the  South  ?  Certainly  not. 
It  is  but  charity  to  the  South  to  admit  of  finding  a  solution  of 
their  deficiencies  in  the  statement  of  these  grave  and  important 
truths. 

Was  there  any  one  man  or  measure,  either  in  or  out  of  the 
whole  Southern  establishment,  civil  or  military,  approaching 
those  of  the  North?  Not  one.  I  am  fully  aware  that  "  compari- 
sons are  odious  ;  "  that  these  features  of  observations  are  "  in  bad 
taste,"  and  that  it  will  be  adjudged  ungenerous  to  make  such 
allusions  to  our  fallen  and  subjugated  fellow-countrymen.  I  fully 
appreciate  the  extent  of  the  objection ;  but  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  many  of  this  very  class  of  Southerners,  —  the  old 
leading  politicians  are  straining  their  intellects  to  prove  the  in- 
feriority and  incapacity  of  my  race  to  high  social  and  intellectual 


POLICY  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  AFRICAN.    313 

attainments,  —  the  objector  will,  at  least,  find  an  explanation,  if 
not  justification,  in  the  strictures. 

I  admit  there  are  many  excellent  gentlemen  in  the  South,  and 
many  have,  through  the  press  of  the  country,  acknowledged 
their  approval  of  the  great  principles  of  equality  before  the  law, 
liberty  and  justice,  and  the  natural  inalienable  rights  of  all 
men  by  birth;  but  I  must  be  permitted  to  place  my  record,  if 
not  measure  my  steel,  against  those  who  tauntingly  dare  chal- 
lenge me.  It  was  the  Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  who,  long  years 
ago,  on  the  floor  of  the  United  States  Senate,  on  the  very 
subject  of  .disparagement,  told  Senator  Hayne,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, in  reply  to  his  assertion,  "  The  gentleman  from  Massachu- 
setts has  found  more  than  his  match "  in  debate  with  Senator 
Benton,  —  "  Sir,  where  there  are  blows  to  be  received,  there  must 
be  blows  given  in  return." 

The  International  Policy  of  the    World  towards  the 
African  Hace. 

One  of  the  highest  pretensions  set  up  in  favor  of  the  enslave- 
ment of  the  African  race  is  its  inferiority.  If  the  Britons,  Cale- 
donians, Hibernians,  and  others  of  the  Celtic  as  well  as  Teuton 
and  pure  Caucasian  races  had  never  been  enslaved;  if  Carac- 
tacus,  the  king  and  proudest  prince  the  British  ever  had  up  to 
that  period,  had  not  been  led  in  chains,  and  sold  by  order  of 
Julius  Caesar,  with  many  other  British  slaves,  in  the  public 
market  of  Rome ;  if  the  British  nobles,  long  years  ago,  had  not 
written  of  their  own  peasantry,  that  they  were  incapable  of  ele- 
vation ;  if  they  had  not  recorded  and  passed  enactments  against 
the  Scotch  and  Irish,  that  they  were  innately  inferior,  and  totally 
insusceptible  of  insL  action  and  civilization,  calling  them  "hea- 
then dogs,  only  fit  for  slaves  of  the  lowest  order ;  "  if  a  general 
system  of  serfdom,  known  as  the  Feudal  System,  had  not  existed 
generally  among  the  white  races  for  ages  through  all  Europe, 
before  a  black  slave  was  ever  known  among  the  whites ;  if  the 
whites  had  not  been  held  in  slavery  many  centuries  longer  than 
were  the  blacks ;  and  finally,  if  Kussia  had  not,  just  Avithin  the 
last  three  years  (1864),  emancipated  her  forty-two  millions  of 


314  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

slaves,  —  ten  times  more  than  the  African  slaves  in  the  United 
States,  allowing  four  millions  to  the  South,  —  then  there  would 
be  some  semblance  of  honesty  and  sincerity  in  the  continued 
plea  of  justice  for  ages  of  wrong  and  crime  against  an  unoffend- 
ing, helpless  people. 

Through  all  times  white  slavery  had  existed  among  the  nations 
of  Europe,  and  as  civilization  advanced,  and  the  lower  classes 
became  more  elevated,  the  difficulty  became  more  apparent  in 
perpetuating  the  system.  What  to  do,  and  how  to  remedy  the 
evil,  was  a  question  of  paramount  importance.  To  suppress  the 
approach  of  civilization,  and  keep  down  the  rising  aspirations  of 
the  common  people,  could  not  be  well  determined.  The  genius 
of  social  and  political  economy  were  put  to  the  test  to  divine  the 
desired  end  to  be  attained.  Legislative  and  royal  decrees  could 
not  reach  it ;  the  march  of  man  and  the  light  of  intellect  kept  in 
advance  of  legal  injunctions. 

In  624  —  twelve  hundred  and  forty-three  years  ago,  and  twelve 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  before  the  Emancipation  Proclamation 
of  President  Lincoln — the  Saracens  or  Arabs  gained  access  to 
Africa,  controlling  the  commerce  for  seven  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  years,  being  the  only  foreigners  accessible  to,  and  holding 
a  friendly  intercourse  with,  the  people. 

In  the  year  1487,  Bartholomew  Diaz,  of  Portugal,  discovered 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  calling  it  Cabo  del  Tormentoso —  "  the 
Cape  of  Storms."  On  reporting  to  his  sovereign  the  discovery, 
with  all  of  its  prospects,  the  king  cried  out,  "No,  let  us  not  call 
it  '  Cabo  del  Tormentoso,'  but  rather  let  us  call  it  Cabo  del  Buen 
Spertmza !  —  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  !  "  And  it  was  a  good  hope 
to  Portugal,  because  it  must  be  remembered  that  access  to  Africa, 
by  communication  with  the  western  coast,  was  then  to  Euro- 
peans unknown ;  the  only  intercourse  being  from  the  north  by 
the  Barbary  States,  and  through  the  interior  by  caravans,  all  of 
which  purported  to  reach  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent  by 
that  way. 

The  year  1482  was  an  eventful  period  to  the  African  race, 
and  I  here  record,  for  the  first  time  probably  in  which  it  has  ever 
been  given  to  the  world  (except  the  authority  herein  quoted),  the 
startling  facts  that  the  enslavement  of  the  African  race  was  the 


POLICY  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  AFEICAN.    315 

result  of  a  determination  on  the  part  of  at  least  four,  and  proba- 
bly more,  of  the  strongest,  the  most  enlightened  and  polished 
nations  at  the  time,  to  make  the  African  race  supplant,  by  sub- 
stituting it  for  European  slavery.  These  nations  were,  Spain, 
England,  France,  and  Portugal. 

And  I  should  not  feel,  whatever  I  may  have  effectually  done, 
that  my  work  had  been  more  than  half  completed,  did  I  not,  as  a 
wronged  and  outraged  son  of  Africa,  give  to  the  world  this 
crowning  act  of  infamy  against  a  people,  the  facts  of  which  have 
ever  been  closely  concealed,  and  even  denied,  while  thousands 
of  the  world's  good  people  have  no  knowledge  that  such  facts 
ever  transpired. 

The  demands  for  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  whites 
pressed  heavily  in  all  parts  of  Europe,  as  the  elevated  wealthy 
noble  could  not  longer  bear  to  see  the  ignorant  poor  of  his  kins- 
men degraded.  To  longer  deny  them  the  right  of  elevation,  was 
to  disparage  the  genius,  and  degrade  the  whole  Caucasian  race. 
To  remedy  this,  a  race  must  be  chosen  foreign  to  their  own,  and 
as  different  as  possible  in  external  characteristics.  For  this 
dreadful  purpose  the  African  was  selected  as  the  victim  of  an 
international  conspiracy.  A  political  conspiracy  of  malice  afore- 
thought, prompted  by  avarice  and  the  love  of  lucre.  During  the 
memorable  events  that  thrilled  with  emotion  the  communities  of 
every  country  in  1862,  in  the  midst  of  our  national  struggle,  the 
Rev.  Felix,  Archbishop  of  Orleans,  France,  in  a  pastoral,  sent 
forth  to  exhort  the  people  of  France  and  the  French  Catholics 
of  the  United  States  to  support  the  position  taken  by  President 
Lincoln,  in  pronouncing  his  malediction  against  the  cause  of  the 
South,  said,  "It  is  the  teaching  of  experience  that  the  slavery 
of  the  day  —  the  slavery  of  the  blacks  —  has  an  origin  and  a 
consequence  equally  detestable.  Its  origin  was  the  TREATY, 
the  ignoble  and  cruel  bargain,  condemned  by  Pius  II.  in  1482, 
by  Paul  III.  in  1557,  by  Urba  VIII.  in  1539,  by  Benedict  XIV. 
in  174] ,  by  Gregory  XVI.  in  1839."  His  revelation  should  startle 
Christendom,  and  none  would  question  the  historical  accuracy 
of  the  facts  in  the  case,  when  coming  from  such  a  trustworthy 
source  as  the  reverend  and  honored  Archbishop  of  Orleans. 

Objections  were  many  and  serious  on  the  part  of  the  common 


316  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

classes  to  the  introduction  of  this  new  people  as  a  domestic  ele- 
ment into  European  countries.  But  notwithstanding  this,  there 
would,  doubtless,  have  been  many. sent,  if  a  timely  relief  had 
not  been  afforded  by  the  discovery  of  America  in  1492.  So 
lucrative  became  this  traffic  in  a  foreign  people,  running  through 
many  years,  and  engrossed  by  the  most  elevated,  as  elsewhere 
referred  to,  that  in  1518,  James  I.  made  it  the  basis  of  the  rev- 
enue, if  not  the  wealth  of  England.  The  people  of  the  New 
World  —  Spanish,  English,  French,  Portuguese,  and  Dutch  — 
made  this  race  their  "hope  and  expectation." 

Whole  fleets  of  merchantmen,  from  every  nation  in  Europe, 
environed  Africa,  to  subjugate  her  people.  Powerful  naval  forces 
were  also  brought  against  her,  and  national  representatives,  in 
the  persons  of  their  emissaries,  prowled  along  and  about  her 
entire  coast,  sowing  the  seeds  of  discord,  and  a  baser  corruption 
among  those  of  the  already  corrupted  natives,  inciting  them  to 
war,  and  the  devastation  of  their  homes. 

Every  vestige  of  civilization  was  driven  from  the  coast,  the 
interior  placed  under  fearful  apprehensions,  the  entire  social 
system  deranged,  the  progress  of  improvement  suspended,  and 
permanent  establishments  abandoned.  With  the  entire  wbite 
world  against  her,  is  it  not  clear  why  Africa,  in  the  last  twelve 
centuries,  has  not  kept'  pace  with  tbe  civilization  of  the  age  ? 
Certainly  it  is.  But  there  are  those  who  still  affect  to  doubt  the 
former  civilization  of  Africa,  and  dispute  that  race  as  the  authors 
of  her  ancient  arts  and  sciences.  Why  dispute  it?  If  the  Afri- 
can race  were  not  the  authors,  what  race  were?  Why  are  not 
the  same  arts  and  sciences  found  in  some  other  portion  of  the 
globe  than  Africa?  Why  confined  to  this  quarter  of  the  world? 
The  identity  of  one  people  with  another  has  its  strongest  evi- 
dence in  the  characteristics,  habits,  manners,  customs,  especially 
in  moral  and  religious  sentiments,  peculiar  to  themselves,  even 
after  all  traces  by  language  are  lost. 

It  is  simply  ridiculous  for  ethnologists  to  claim  the  few  Bebers 
who  are  found  in  and  about  Egypt,  as  the  remnants  of  the  ancient 
Africans,  and  erectors  of  the  mighty  pyramids,  and  authors  of 
the  hieroglyphics.  The  present  Bebers  of  Egypt  are  none  other 
than  mixed  bloods  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  who  once  inhabited 


POLICY  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  AFRICAN.     317 

it,  —  who  were  pure  blacks,  —  and  Saracens  who  had  conquered 
the  country  by  conquest  B.  C.  146,  and  without  any  prestige,  ex- 
cept that  inherited  from  the  Ishmaelitish  or  Arab  side  of  their 
ancestry  — avarice  and  treachery.  I  mean  not  to  be  unkind  in 
stating  this,  but  simply  to  paint  facts  in  a  strong  light. 

Certainly  the  general  character  of  this  (the  Arabian)  race  of 
men  has  been  known  through  all  times.  And  although  they  had 
given  the  world  in  literature  the  nine  numerals  in  arithmetic, 
a  ehirography,  and  a  religion  which  necessarily  has  some  beauti- 
ful philosophy,  'yet  there  is  little  comparison  in  any  of  these  to 
the  literature  of  ancient  Africa.  I  believe  it  is  not  pretended 
that  the  Arabians  have  any  peculiar  order  of  architecture ;  and  I 
hope  not  to  be  regarded  uncharitable  if  I  suspect  the  cunning 
Arab,  instead  of  originating,  as  having  stolen  the  nine  numerals 
of  our  common  arithmetic  from  the  Alexandrian  Museum,  de- 
stroyed by  them  in  the  memorable  conflagration.  It  was  clever 
in  them  to  do  so,  and  keep  it  to  themselves ;  and  I  shall  not 
raise  the  .voice  of  envy  against  them. 

The  most  striking  character  of  the  ancient  Africans  was  their 
purity  of  morals  and  religion.  Their-  high  conception  and  rever- 
ence of  Deity  was  manifested  and  acknowledged  in  everything 
they  did.  They  are  known  in  history  as  having  been  the  most 
scrupulous  of  all  races,  and  conscientious  in  their  dealings.  In 
this  I  have  reference  to  the  Ethiopians,  of  whom  the  inhabitants 
of  Egypt  were  lineal  descendants  by  colonization  or  emigration 
down  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  and  settlement  in  the  territory  at  its 
mouths;  being  identical  in  all  their  characteristics  of  a  "black 
skin  and  woolly  hair,"  even  as  described  as  late  as  the  time  of 
Herodotus,  "  the  father  of  history,"  the  learned  Grecian  philoso- 
pher who  travelled  and  resided  among  them  during  twenty-five 
years. 

A  people  or  race  possessing  in  a  high  degree  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  pure  ethics  and  true  religion,  a  just  conception  of 
God,  necessarily  inherit  the  essential  principles  of  the  highest 
civilization.  And  is  it  not  a  known  and  conceded  fact  by  all 
who  are  at  all  conversant  with  the  true  character  of  the  African, 
that  he  excels  all  other  races  in  religious  sentiments,  and  adap- 
tation to  domestic  usages,  wherever  found?  In  this  I  will  not 


318  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

even  except  the  Caucasian  race,  because  those  characteristics 
in  the  African  are  in  such  striking  contrast  to  the  same  in  the 
Caucasian,  that  they  are  regarded  by  him  as  exaggerations  and 
extravagances.  Indeed  such  is  the  susceptibility  and  adapta- 
tion of  the  African  to  the  civilization  of  the  times  and  places  in 
which  he  may  be  found,  that  the  Caucasian,  instead  of  looking 
upon  it  in  approved  comparison  with  that  which  he  admires  in 
his  own  race,  has,  by  usage  of  a  policy,  become  accustomed  to 
undervalue  it  as  a  mere  "imitation."  Can  imitation  give  intel- 
lectual ability  for  acquirements  ?  If  it  enables  a  parrot  or  split- 
tongued  crow  to  gabble  words  by  imitation  of  sound  without  any 
conception  of  meaning ;  if  it  enables  a  monkey  or  an  ourang-  ou- 
tang  to  "  come  down  from  a  tree  and  tie  gloves  on  others'  hands," 
to  go  back  leaving  it  unable  either  to  loosen  the  strings,  or  climb 
the  tree  to  escape  the  artful  huntsman,  in  imitation  of  what  lie  did 
to  insnare  it;  or  "  thrusting  a  hand  into  a  jug  of  figs,  grabbing 
it  full,"  and  thus  holding  on  to  the  figs,  screams,  endeavoring  to 
take  the  hand  out  full,  until  caught,  not  having  intellect  to  let 
go  the  figs ;  does  it  make  him  capable  of  high  intellectual  attain- 
ment, such  as  languages,  chirography,  arithmetic,  philosophy, 
mathematics,  the  sciences  of  war,  music,  painting,  sculpture, 
political  science,  and  polite  literature? 

Let  the  traducers  of  the  African  race,  those  who  affect  to  be- 
lieve that  his  faculties  consist  in  mere  "imitation,"  answer  this 
inquiry.  Even  in  the  Southern  States,  terribly  crushed  and 
shattered  as  has  been  for  centuries  the  true  African  character, 
these  lurking  faculties  for  the  higher  attainments  rising  superior 
to  the  fetters  which  bound  the  body  of  the  possessor,  would 
occasionally  burst  forth  like  the  sudden  illumination  of  a  bril- 
liant meteor,  startling  the  midnight  gazer  while  all  was  en- 
shrined in  darkness  around.  Whether  in  the  person  of  the  dis- 
tinguished orator  and  advocate  of  his  race,  Frederick  Douglass 
of  Maryland,  or  an  Ellis,  the  negro  blacksmith  linguist,  or 
George  Madison  Washington  of  Virginia,  or  Blind  Tom  of 
Alabama,  the  musician  and  pianist,  now  suprising  the  world, 
Elizabeth  Greenfield  of  Mississippi,  the  celebrated  "  Black 
Susan,"  —  all  slaves  when  developed,  —  these  great  truths  of 
African  susceptibility  are  incontrovertible.  With  one  more 


POLICY  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  AFRICAN.     319 

point  this  treatise  shall  have  ended.  But  subsequent  to  its  com- 
pletion, and  very  recently,  a  high  functionary,  at  the  head  of  one 
the  greatest  nations  of  modern  times,  in  an  elaborate  argument 
on  the  subject,  having  seen  fit  to  make  it  history,  by  recording, 
as  part  of  an  official  document,  the  following  declaration,  I 
deem  it  as  treacherous  to  the  African  race,  to  which  I  wholly  be- 
long, if  I  did  not  place  as  permanently  on  record  an  equally  bold 
and  defiant  declaration  —  a  proof  to  the  contrary.  Says  this 
sage  and  statesman-,  — 

"  The  peculiar  qualities  which  should  characterize  any  people 
who  are  fit  to  decide  upon  the  management  of  public  affairs  for 
a  great  state  have  seldom  been  combined.  It  is  the  glory  of 
white  men  to  know  that  they  have  had  these  qualities  in  sufficient 
measure  to  build  upon  this  continent  a  great  political  fabric,  and 
to  preserve  its  stability  for  more  than  ninety  years,  while  in 
every  other  part  of  the  world  all  similar  experiments  have 
failed.  But  if  anything  can  be  proved  by  known  facts,  if  all 
reasoning  upon  evidence  is  not  abandoned,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that,  in  the  progress  of  nations,  negroes  have  shown  less 
capacity  for  government  than  any  other  race  of  people.  No  in- 
dependent government  of  any  form  has  ever  been  successful  in 
their  hands.  On  the  contrary,  whenever  they  have  been  left  to 
their  own  devices,  they  have  shown  a  constant  tendency  to  re- 
lapse into  barbarism."  Instead  of  the  assertion,  that  in  the 
progress  of  the  nations  the  negro  has  shown  less  capacity  for 
government  than  any  other  race  of  people,  that  no  independent 
government  of  any  form  has  ever  been  successful  in  their  hands, 
I  shall  commend  a  reply  to  this  predicate,  by  the  proposition 
that  the  negroes  were  foremost  in  the  progress  of  time ;  first 
who  developed  the  highest  type  of  civilization.  National  civil 
government  and  the  philosophy  of  religion  were  borrowed  by 
the  white  races  from  the  negro.  And  if  the  learned  jurist  will 
go  back  to  school-boy  days,  he  will  remember  what  time  has 
evidently  caused  him  to  forget. 

In  the  days  of  Egyptian  greatness  one  dynasty  existed,  evi- 
dently, for  more  than  one  thousand  years.  This  is  known  to 
Holy  Writ  as  the  government  of  the  Pharaohs.  During  the  reign 


320  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

of  these  princes,  the  sovereigns  repeatedly  were  chosen  from 
Egyptian  and  Ethiopian  families.  By  Ethiopian  families,  is 
meant  the  going  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Ethiopia  to  select  from  a 
royal  family  the  ruler,  just  as  Great  Britain  goes  into  Germany 
to  select  from  a  family  a  sovereign  for  the  throne. 

Among  these  mighty  princes  were  Menes,  or  Misraim,  Sesos- 
tris,  Osiris,  and  the  Barneses,  the  last  of  which  was  the  dynas- 
ty name  numerically  recorded  I.,  II.,  III.,  and  so  on.  Barneses 
I.,  the  greatest  of  the  princes,  was  the  god-man,  and  none  other 
than  Jupiter-Ammon.  In  him  was  the  beautiful  and  symbolic 
idea  of  the  attributes  of  Deity,  —  the  Christian's  God,  —  first  de- 
veloped. The  person  of  the  Deity,  Barneses  I.,  was  represented 
as  a  human  being  of  robust  proportions,  having  a  "bushy,  woolly 
head,  with  ram's  horns."  His  position,  seated  on  a  throne  of  gold 
and  ivory,  ivory  base  and  golden  floor;  in  his  left  hand  a  sceptre, 
the  right  grasping  a  thunderbolt.  At  his  side  was  the  Phoenix, 
in  its  well-known  attitude.  This  last  symbolic  attribute  is  some- 
times, indeed  generally,  spoken  of  by  writers  as.  an  "  eagle  with 
extended  wings,"  which  is  evidently  an  error,  from  all  the  facts 
connected  with  the  god  Jupiter,  and  Barneses  II.,  his  successor; 
besides,  the  eagle  was  not  an  ideal,  symbolic  bird  of  religion  in 
Africa.  It  is  suggestive  of  combat  and  carnality  instead  of 
purity,  the  successor  being  styled  by  the  ever-devoted  Africans, 
"  Barneses  the  Ever-living,  Always-living  Barneses  "  —  his  name 
occurring  twice  in  the  saluation. 

Here,  in  this  ideal  symbol  of  a  God,  was  also  the  identity  of 
man ;  ivory  representing  durability,  gold,  purity,  the  sceptre,  au- 
thority, and  the  thunderbolt,  power;  the  ram's  head,  innocence, 
decision,  and  caution  against  too  near  approach.  In  a  word, 
none  must  presume  to  attempt  to  speak  face  to  face  with  the  Deity, 
as  death  would  be  the  result ;  as  it  is  a  well-known  characteristic 
of  a  ram,  while  innocent  as  a  sheep,  he  will  instantly  attack  any 
head,  man's  or  beast's,  that  approaches  his. 

Another  beautiful  symbolic  attribute  of  Jupiter-Ammon,  — 
Barneses  I.,  —  which  afterwards  personified  Barneses  II.,  was  the 
Phoenix.  This  bird,  like  many  ancient  images,  was  allegorical 
or  ideal.  It  was  described  as  similar  to  an  eagle,  larger,  and 


POLICY  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  AFRICAN.    321 

beautiful ;  with  breast,  wings,  and  tail  of  a  brilliant  gold  tint ;  a 
crown  of  solid  gold  crest  capped  its  head,  the  rest  of  the  body 
covered  with  green.  It  never  flew,  but  always  walked  with 
stately  step  and  dignity.  There  was  but  one  known  to  have  an 
existence,  and  the  beginning  was  never  known.  It  produced  no 
young,  but  was  itself  from  the  beginning  a  full-grown  bird.  It 
lived,  and  lived,  and  lived  on,  from  generation  to  generation, 
through  ages  and  periods,  and  periods  and  ages,  till,  seeming 
weary  of  life,  it  built  a  nest  of  fagots  and  brush  picked  up, 
which  was  long  constructing ;  sat  upon  it  when  finished,  laid  a 
golden  egg  in  time ;  the  egg  ignited  the  nest  into  a  burning  mass  ; 
the  bird  continuing  to  sit,  threw  up  its  wings  and  head  in  great 
excitement,  and  was  consumed  in  the  flames ;  when  in  the  ashes 
was  left  a  ball,  out  of  the  ball  came  forth  a  worm,  from  this 
worm  instantly  sprang  another  Phoenix,  which  lived  on  like  the 
first,  to  transfigurate  or  reproduce  itself  again  in  time. 

There  were  still  other  symbolic  representatives  of  Deity  among 
them,  Rameses  II.  being  also  called  Apis,  and  represented  as  an 
ox  or  a  bull ;  while  Ramesis  III.  was  called  Osiris,  and  repre- 
sented as  a  dog  —  the  ox  or  bull,  as  the  attribute  of  patience,  en- 
durance, and  strength ;  the  dog,  as  faithfulness  and  watchfulness. 

Is  it  not  clear  that  much  of  the  philosophy  of  our  theology 
was  borrowed  from  their  mythology?  Whence  the  "  great  white 
throne"  upon  which  God  sits;  the  "golden  pavement,"  the 
"  thunders "  of  his  wrath,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,"  "  Our 
God  is  a  consuming  fire,"  "  No  man  can  look  upon  God  and  live," 
"A  self-creating  God,"  with  numerous  kindred  quotations  which 
might  be  made  from  the  Scriptures  ? 

The  Africans,  as  is  well  known,  were  great  herdsmen  ;  a  great 
part  of  their  wealth  and  available  currency  consisting  in  their  live 
stock ;  every  family,  however  limited  their  circumstances,  having 
a  flock  of  sheep  or  goats,  and  both  more  or  less ;  this  running 
through  to  the  present  day,  where,  in  recent  travels  on  .that  con- 
tinent, the  writer  met,  in  the  first  large  city,  a  dairyman,  who, 
every  morning,  milked  eighty  cows,  and  farther  in  the  interior, 
towards  Soudan,  the  dairy  which  supplied  him  every  morning 
milked  two  hundred  cows.  And  among  the  higher  families, 
as  nobles,  chiefs,  and  princes,  from  five  to  ten  thousand 
21 


322  LIFE  or  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

head,  the  property  of  one  person  or  family,  is  commonly  met 
with.  .  Dr.  Livingstone  speaks  of  meeting  with  kings,  even 
in  that  least  civilized  interior  region  of  his  explorations,  who 
possessed  as  many  as  forty  thousand  cattle.  These  herds  are 
watched  by  faithful  attendants,  —  men  when  large,  or  women 
when  small,  with  the  indispensable  shepherd  dog,  which  is  gen- 
erally black.  In  speaking  of  the  riches  of  Job,  the  man  of  Uz, 
the  Scriptures  tell  us  that  his  cattle  were  on  a  "  thousand  hills." 

Can  it  not  be  conceived  that  the  God  who  was  thus  bountiful 
in  bestowing  such  wealth  might  be  symbolized  by  the  property 
itself  and  the  means  of  its  protection?  Hence  Jupiter  Ammon 
or  Rameses  I.,  as  a  ram  or  sheep;  Sesostris,  or  Rameses  II., 
as  a  bull  or  ox  —  Apis ;  Osiris  or  Rameses  III.  as  dog  or 
jackal.  « 

There  was  also  another  beautiful  symbolic  personification  .in 
this  —  three  persons  in  one.  For  it  is  a  striking  and  remarkable 
fact,  as  must  be  noticed  by  all  antiquarians,  that  these  three  per- 
sons inseparably  appear,  both  by  inscription  and  in  statuary  — 
Rameses,  Sesostris,  Osiris  —  sheep,'  ox,  dog.  Here  are  inno- 
cence, patience,  faith,  and  charity  or  love,  as  none  so  loving  as  a 
dog.  And  how  typical  of  the  true  African  character ! 

It  was  shown  that  the  autbors  of  this  beautiful  and  pure  re- 
ligious doctrine  were  black.  This  will  not  be  disputed,  when  it 
is  remembered  that  Moses  took  one  of  the  daughters  of  Jethro, 
prince  and  priest  of  Midian,  to  wife,  and  the  Scriptures  inform 
us  that  she  was  an  "  Ethiopian  woman;"  Aaron  and  Miriam, 
the  brother  and  sister  of  Moses,  entering  into  strife  with  him 
about  it.  Not,  as  it  is  concluded  by  modern  civilization,  because 
she  was  black,  but  because  she  was  identical  with  their  oppress- 
ors and  recent  masters  the  objection  was  made. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  highest  conception  of  the  Jewish 
religion  is  that  which  was  borrowed  from  Africa  during  the 
Israelitish  bondage  in  Egypt,  transmitted  through  them  to  the 
present,  and  devoloped  in  the  metaphysical  theology  of  the  age. 

And  it  will  not  do  to  call  this  "mummery,"  since  later,  in 
June,  18G7,  the  President  of  the  United  States  took  part  in  the 
consecration  of  a  hall,  erected  in  part  to  the  perpetuation  of  this 
African  symbolic  philosophy  and  religion. 


POLICY  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  AFRICAN.    323 

The  capital  city  of  this  great  people  in  Africa  was  Thebais, 
commonly  called  Thebes,  supposed  to  contain  two  millions  of 
inhabitants,  surrounded  by  a  wall  with  one  hundred  gates, 
twenty-five  at  each  point  of  the  compass.  On  the  occasion  of 
his  Asiatic  conquest,  Sesostris,  or  Rameses  II.,  went  out  of  the 
city  with  ten  thousand  infantry  and  two  hundred  chariots,  with 
charioteers  armed  for  war,  from  each  gate  at  one  time,  having  an 
aggregate  of  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  warriors.  The 
conquest  of  this  proud  and  mighty  prince  was  carried  to  the 
banks  of  the  River  Indus,  conquering  every  nation  as  he  passed ; 
where  he  set  his  memorable  pillars,  with  the  peculiar  inscription, 
"  Sesostris,  the  king  of  kings,  has  conquered  the  world  to  the 
banks  of  the  Indus ;  "  when  he  evacuated  the  country,  and  re- 
turned to  his  own,  having  vindicated  the  prestige  and  dignity  of 
his  name. 

Who  were  the  builders  of  the  everlasting  pyramids,  cata- 
combs, and  sculptors  of  the  sphinxes?  Were  they  Europeans 
or  Caucasians,  Asiatics  or  Mongolians?  Will  it  be  at  once  con- 
ceded that  the  authors  of  the  symbolic  mythology  and  hiero- 
glyphic science  are  identical  ?  Upon  this  point  there  is  but  one 
opinion.  The  inventors  or  authors  of  the  one  were  the  builders 
or  architects  of  the  other. 

Among  what  race  of  men,  and  what  country  of  the  globe,  do 
we  find  traces  of  these  singular  productions,  but  the  African  and 
Africa?  None  whatever.  It  is  in  Africa  the  pyramids,  sphinxes, 
and  catacombs  are  found ;  here  the  hieroglyphics  still  remain. 
Among  the  living  Africans  traces  of  their  beautiful  philosophy 
and  symbolic  mythology  still  exist.  In  the  interior  their  archi- 
tecture and  hieroglyphics  are  still  the  subjects  of  their  art. 
Through  all  time  the  arts  of  a  people  have  been  among  the 
clearest  evidences  of  identity. 

Asia  has  her  several  peculiar  orders  of  architecture,  the  Chi- 
nese and  Japan  being  identical ;  that  among  the  Hindoos  the 
type  of  the  others.  Europe  has  her  Tuscan,  Doric,  Ionic,  Corin- 
thian, and  Composite,  with  Gothic,  and  other  modifications  of 
modern  orders. 

If  the  originators  and  builders  of  the  pyramids  and  sphinxes 
had  been  Asiatics,  is  it  not  certain  that  the  same  architecture 


324  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

would  have  been  found  in  Asia?  of  Europeans,  in  Europe? 
There  is  nothing  more  certain  than  it  would;  and  the  entire 
absence  of  all  traces  of  the  purely  African  architecture,  arts, 
and  symbolic  religion  and  mythology  among  other  races  and  in 
other  countries  than  the  Africans  and  Africa,  makes  it  simply 
preposterous  for  the  white  race  to  claim  these  as  productions  of 
their  own. 

Would  the  Asiatic  or  the  European,  who  had  erected  the  archi- 
tectural monuments  in  Africa,  have  lost  their  arts?  Would 
they  not  have  originated  another  as  they  returned  to  their  original 
homes  ?  Do  the  fixed,  especially  original,  arts  of  a  people  leave 
them  simply  by  a  change  of  countries  ?  Certainly  not ;  as  among 
the  greatest  advantages  to  be  gained  by  emigration  is  the  arts 
that  are  taken  by  the  people  to  a  country.  And  had  the  archi- 
tectures of  Africa  been  an  importation,  originated  by  or  among 
any  other  people  than  themselves,  is  it  not  one  of  the  most 
striking  known  to  history  by  ages  of  experience,  that  it  would 
have  been  found  in  some  other  country  among  the  descendants 
of  the  originators  and  authors,  and  not  been  found  in  Africa 
alone,  and  peculiar  to  the  African  race?  Were  they  Persians 
who  had  succeeded  by  conquest  in  Africa?  Were  they  Greeks 
under  Alexander?  Were  they  Greeks  and  Eomans  who  made 
their  advent  into  Egypt  with  Antony?  or  those  who  fled  in  dis- 
may under  Pompey,  after  the  famous  defeat  of  Pharsalia?  or 
Jews  under  tetrarch  governments?  Certainly  not;  as  all  of 
them,  from  the  Persian  to  the  Jewish  advent,  found  these  arts 
and  sciences  there.  And  is  it  not  known  to  history  that  Egypt 
was  the  "  cradle  of  the  earliest  civilization,"  propagating  the 
arts  and  sciences,  when  the  Grecians  were  an  uncivilized  peo- 
ple, covering  their  persons  with  skins  and  clothing,  anterior  to 
the  existence  of  the  she-wolf  with  Romulus  the  founder  of 
Borne? 

On  the  invasion  of  the  Saracens,  A.  C.  14G  years,  the  African 
library,  known  as  the  "Alexandrian  Museum,"  was  known  to 
contain  in  manuscript  seven  hundred  thousand  volumes.  The 
secretivenees  of  the  Africans  was  a  matter  of  history  for  ages 
known  to  the  world,  their  arts  and  sciences  being  held  as  sacred, 
and  propagated  with  the  greatest  caution.  The  kings  and  priests 


POLICY  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  THE  AFRICAN.    325 

were  the  first  recipients ;  the  nobles  and  gentlemen  the  other. 
All  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  regarded  this  library  as  the  "  hope  and 
expectation  "  of  their  countries. 

The  value  of  the  collection  will  be  estimated  by  remem- 
brance of  its  age  and  manner  of  obtaining,  printing  then  being 
unknown  to  the  world.  The  age  of  the  library,  from  its  first 
collections,  was  coequal  with  the  first  dawn  of  science  among 
them. 

And  had  this  immense  fountain  of  knowledge  been  transmitted 
to  posterity,  the  African  would  have  had  a  history  and  a  name. 
And  I  repeat,  with  emphasis,  that  the  loss  of  the  African  library 
was  a  catastrophe  unequalled  in  the  age  of  the  world,  as  bearing 
on  the  destiny  of  a  people  and  a  race. 

But  the  "Museum"  was  made  the  centre  of  attraction;  the 
Saracen  invaders  surrounded  the  stupendous  edifice  ;  orders  were 
given  that  not  a  relic  be  preserved ;  the  flambeau  was  the  weapon 
of  attack ;  assault  and  fire  was  the  command,  —  when  the  accumu- 
lated literature,  art  and  science,  of  four  thousand  years'  collec- 
tion, sent  fire  and  smoke  towards  the  heavens,  more  destructive 
in  its  consequences  than  the  world  had  ever  before  witnessed! 
The  African  library,  the  depository  of  the  earliest  germs  of 
social,  civil,  political,  and  national  progress,  the  concentrated 
wisdom  of  ages,  stood  in  flames !  Fourteen  days  burning,  the 
building  in  ruins,  and  the  light  of  science  and  civilization,  for 
generations,  was  extinguished,  and  Africa  became  a  prey  to 
avarice,  imposture,  and  oppression  ! 

So  enlightened,  polished,  and  humane  were  .this  race,  that 
after  the  birth  of  Jesus,  subsequent  to  the  downfall  of  Egypt  by 
the  Saracens,  the  "warning  of  the  Lord  to  Joseph"  was  to 
take  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and  flee  into  Egypt,  and  be 
thou  there  until  they  are  all  dead  who  seek  the  child's  life.  Nor 
can  it  be  denied  that  the  African  race  were  that  which  the 
"  Spirit  of  the  Lord"  meant,  because,  notwithstanding  Saracen 
subjugation  in  Egypt,  the  African  polity,  civilization,  and  human- 
ity still  prevailed.  Besides,  it  is  a  historically  known  fact  that 
Greeks  and  Jews  were  with  the  Romans  in  government  and  sen- 
timents against  this  Messiah,  the  promised  king  of  the  Jews ;  all 
conspiring  for  his  deposition  in  the  event  of  his  coming.  It  will 


3'26  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

also  be  remembered  that  after  the  crucifixion  and  ascension,  that 
Africa  was  the  only  country  which  held  prestige  enough  to  send 
a  national  representative  to  "Jerusalem  to  worship  "  under  the 
Christian  doctrine,  as  propagated  by  the  scattered  and  terror- 
stricken  apostles ;  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  a  man  of  great  au- 
thority, and  chief  lord  of  her  majesty,  Queen  Candace's,  royal 
treasury. 

One  word  more,  and  I  close  a  review  already  too  elaborate ; 
but  driven  by  necessity  to  the  defence  of  my  race,  duty  compelled 
me  to  the  point  where  I  cease.  Would  any  other  race  than  the 
African,  in  the  symbolical  statues  of  the  sphinxes,  have  placed 
the  great  head  of  a  negro  woman  on  the  majestic  body  of  a  lion, 
as  an  ideal  representation  of  their  genius  ? 

If  it  be  the  "  glory  of  the  white  race  to  know  that  they  have 
had  these  qualifications  in  sufficient  measure  to  build  upon  this 
continent  a  great  political  fabric,"  it  is  also  the  glory  of  the 
black  race  to  know  that  they  have  had  these  qualities  in  sufficient 
measure  to  build  a  great  political  fabric  long  before  the  whites, 
imparting  to  them  the  first  germs  of  civilization,  and  enlighten- 
ing the  world  by  their  wisdom.  And  the  most  momentous,  ex- 
traordinary international  conspiracy  against  the  African  race, 
which  this  memento  commenced  to  expose,  has  never  been  by 
convention  annulled  nor  abrogated,  and,  therefore,  still  stands 
optional  with  "either  party  to  continue  or  withdraw;  it  is  fondly 
and  confidently  hoped  will  not  be  encouraged  nor  induced  to 
continue  by  an  equally  extraordinary,  if  not  momentous,  official 
denunciation  against  that  race,  from  the  executive  of  one  of  the 
most  powerful  nations  existing  on  this  globe. 

And  in  behalf  of  my  race,  once  proud,  polished,  and  elevated, 
—  at  the  feet  of  whose  philosophers  the  learned  and  eminent  of 
the  world  sought  wisdom,  as  did  "  Herodotus,  the  father  of  his- 
tory," and  others,  — may  I  fondly  hope  that  another  generation 
will  not  pass  away  till  Africa,  in  and  by  her  own  legitimate  chil- 
dren, gives  evidence  of  a  national  regeneration,  breathing  forth 
with  fervid  and  holy  aspirations  in  the  religious  sentiments  of 
her  native  heart  and  beautiful  words  of  one  of  her  own  native 
languages:  Bi-Olorum  Pellu — "the  Lord  has  been  merciful 
to  us." 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COUGHED  RACE.  327 

And  in  behalf  of  my  emancipated  brethren  in  America,  may 
the  blessings  of  that  God,  whose  signal  promise  must  and  will 
be  fulfilled,  despite  political  official  anathema,  rest  upon  the 
devoted  head  and  in  the  holy  heart  of  the  most  eminent  prelate, 
Father  Felix,  Archbishop  of  Orleans  in  France. 

Political  Destiny  of  the   Colored  Race   on   the 
American   Continent. 

To  the  Colored  Inhabitants  of  the  United  States :  — 

Fellow-Countrymen :  The  duty  assigned  us  is  an  important 
one,  comprehending  all  that  pertains  to  our  destiny  and  that  of 
our  posterity,  present  and  prospectively.  And  while  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  subject  is  one  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  re- 
quiring all  that  talents,  prudence,  and  wisdom  might  adduce,  and 
while  it  would  be  folly  to  pretend  to  give  you  the  combined  result 
of  these  three  agencies,  we  shall  satisfy  ourselves  with  doing  our 
duty  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  and  that  in  the  plainest,  most 
simple,  and  comprehensive  manner. 

Our  object,  then,  shall  be  to  place  before  you  our  true  position 
in  this  country  (the  United  States),  the  improbability  of  realizing 
our  desires,  and  the  sure,  practicable,  and  infallible  remedy  for 
the  evils  we  now  endure. 

We  have  not  addressed  you  as  citizens,  —  a  term  desired  and 
ever  cherished  by  us,  —  because  such  you  have  never  been.  We 
have  not  addressed  you  as  freemen,  because  such  privileges  have 
never  been  enjoyed  by  any  colored  man  in  the  United  States. 
Why,  then,  should  we  flatter  your  credulity,  by  inducing  you  to 
believe  that  which  neither  has  now,  nor  never  before  had,  an  ex- 
istence ?  Our  oppressors  are  ever  gratified  at  our  manifest  satis- 
faction, especially  when  that  satisfaction  is  founded  upon  false 
premises ;  an  assumption  on  our  part  of  the  enjoyment  of  rights 
and  privileges  which  never  have  been  conceded,  and  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  present  system  of  the  United  States  policy,  we 
never  can  enjoy. 

The  political  policy  of  this  country  was  solely  borrowed  from, 
and  shaped  and  modelled  after,  that  of  Rome.  This  was  strikingly 


328  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DEL  ANY. 

the  case  in  the  establishment  of  immunities,  and  the  application 
of  terms  in  their  civil  and  legal  regulations. 

The  term  citizen,  politically  considered,  is  derived  from  the 
Roman  definition,  which  was  never  applied  in  any  other  sense  — 
cives  ingenui  ;  which  meant,  one  exempt  from  restraint  of  any 
kind.  {Gives,  a  citizen;  one  who  might  enjoy  the  highest  hon- 
ors in  his  own  free  town,  —  the  town  in  which  he  lived,  —  and  in 
the  country  or  commonwealth ;  and  ingenui,  freeborn  —  of  GOOD 
EXTRACTION.)  All  who  were  deprived  of  citizenship  —  that  is, 
the  right  of  enjoying  positions  of  honor  and  trust  —  were  termed 
hostes  and  ptregrini  ;  which  are  public  and  private  enemies,  and 
foreigners,  or  aliens  to  the  country.  (Hostis,  a  public,  and 
sometimes  private,  enemy;  and  peregrinus,  an  alien,  stranger, 
or  foreigner.) 

The  Romans,  from  a  national  pride,  to  distinguish  their  in- 
habitants from  those  of  other  countries,  termed  them  all  "  citi- 
zens," but,  consequently,  were  under  the  necessity  of  specifying 
four  classes  of  citizens  :  none  but  the  cives  ingenui  being  unre- 
stricted in  their  privileges.  There  was  one  class,  called  the  jus 
quiritium,  or  the  wailing  or  supplicating  citizen ;  that  is,  one 
who  was  continually  moaning,  complaining,  or  crying  for  aid 
or  succor.  This  class  might  also  include  within  themselves  the 
jus  suffragii,  who  had  the  privilege  of  voting,  but  no  other 
privilege.  They  could  vote  for  one  of  their  -superiors  --  the  cives 
ingenui — but  not  for  themselves. 

Such,  then,  is  the  condition,  precisely,  of  the  black  and  colored 
inhabitants  of  the  United  States ;  in  some  of  the  states  they  an- 
swering to  the  latter  class,  having  the  privilege  of  voting,  to  ele- 
vate their  superiors  to  positions  to  which  they  need  never  dare 
aspire  or  even  hope  to  aitain. 

There  has,  of  late  years,  been  a  false  impression  obtained,  that 
the  privilege  of  voting  constitutes,  or  necessarily  embodies,  the 
rights  of  citizen ship.  A  more  radical  error  never  obtained  favor 
among  an  oppressed  people.  Suffrage  is  an  ambiguous  term, 
which  admits  of  several  definitions.  But  according  to  strict 
political  construction,  means  simply  "a  vote,  voice,  approba- 
tion." Here,  then,  you  have  the  whole  import  of  the  term  suf- 
frage. To  have  the  "right  of  suffrage,"  as  we  rather  proudly 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  329 

term  it,  is  simply  to  have  the  privilege  —  there  is  no  right  about 
it  —  of  giving  our  approbation  to  that  which  our  rulers  may  do, 
without  the  privilege,  on  our  part,  of  doing  the  same  thing. 
Where  such  privileges  are  granted  —  privileges  which  are  now 
exercised  in  but  few  of  the  states  by  colored  men  —  we  have  but 
the  privilege  granted  of  saying,  in  common  with  others,  who 
shall,  for  the  time  being,  exercise  rights,  which,  in  him,  are  con- 
ceded to  be  inherent  and  inviolate :  like  the  indented  apprentice, 
who  is  summoned  to  give  his  approbation  to  an  act  w-hich  would 
be  fully  binding  without  his  concurrence.  Where  there  is  no  ac- 
knowledged sovereignty,  there  can  be  no  binding  power ;  hence, 
the  suffrage  of  the  Mack  man,  independently  of  the  white,  would 
be  in  this  country  unavailable. 

Much  might  be  adduced  on  this  point  to  prove  the  insignificance 
of  the  black  man,  politically  considered,  in  this  country,  but  we 
deem  it  wholly  unnecessary  at  present,  and  consequently  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  consider  another  feature  of  this  important 
subject. 

Let  it  then  be  understood,  as  a  great  principle  of  political 
economy,  that  no  people  can  be  free  who  themselves  do  not 
constitute  an  essential  part  of  the  ruling  element  of  the  country 
in  which  they  live.  Whether  this  element  be  founded  upon  a 
true  or  false,  a  just  or  an  unjust  basis,  this  position  in  commu- 
nity is  necessary  to  personal  safety.  The  liberty  of  no  man  is 
secure  who  controls  not  his  own  political  destiny.  What  is  true 
of  an  individual  is  true  of  a  family,  and  that  which  is  true  of  a 
family  is  also  true  concerning  a  whole  people.  To  suppose 
otherwise,  is  that  delusion  which  at  once  induces  its  victim, 
through  a  period  of  long  suffering,  patiently  to  submit  to  every 
species  of  wrong ;  trusting  against  probability,  and  hoping  against 
all  reasonable  grounds  of  expectation,  for  the  granting  of  privi- 
leges and  enjoyment  of  rights  which  never  will  be  attained. 
This  delusion  reveals  the  true  secret  of  the  power  which  holds 
in  peaceable  subjection  all  the  oppressed  in  every  part  of  the 
world. 

A  people,  to  be  free,  must  necessarily  be  their  own  rulers  ; 
that  is,  each  individual  must,  in  himself,  embody  the  essential 
ingredient  —  so  to  speak  —  of  the  sovereign  principle  which  com- 


330  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

posos  the  true  basis  of  his  liberty.  This  principle,  when  not  ex- 
ercised by  himself,  may,  at  his  pleasure,  be  delegated  to  another 
—  his  true  representative. 

Said  a  great  French  writer,  "  A  free  agent,  in  a  free  govern- 
ment, should  be  his  own  governor ;  "  that  is,  he  must  possess 
within  himself  the  acknowledged  right  to  govern  :  this  constitutes 
him  a  governor,  though  he  may  delegate  to  another  the  power  to 
govern  himself. 

No  one,  then,  can  delegate  to  another  a  power  he  never  pos- 
sessed; that  is,  he  cannot  give  an  agency  in  that  which  he  never 
had  a  right.  Consequently,  the  colored  man  in  the  United  States, 
being  deprived  of  the  right  of  inherent  sovereignty,  cannot  confer 
a  franchise,  because  he  possesses  none  to  confer.  Therefore, 
where  there  is  no  franchise,  there  can  neither  be  freedom  nor 
safety  for  the  disfranchised.  And  it  is  a  futile  hope  to  suppose 
that  the  agent  of  another's  concerns  will  take  a  proper  interest 
in  the  affairs  of  those  to  whom  he  is  under  no  obligations.  Having 
no  favors  to  ask  or  expect,  he  therefore  has  none  to  lose. 

In  other  periods  and  parts  of  the  world,  as  in  Europe  and 
Asia,  the  people  being  of  one  common,  direct  origin  of  race, 
though  established  on  the  presumption  of  difference  by  birth,  or 
what  was  termed  blood,  yet  the  distinction  between  the  superior 
classes  and  common  people  could  only  be  marked  by  the  differ- 
ence in  the  dress  and  education  of  the  two  classes.  To  effect 
this,  the  interposition  of  government  was  necessary ;  consequent- 
ly the  costume  and  education  of  the  people  became  a  subject  of 
legal  restriction,  guarding  carefully  against  the  privileges  of  the 
common  people. 

In  Rome  the  patrician  and  plebeian  were  orders  in  the  ranks 
of  her  people  —  all  of  whom  were  termed  citizens  (cives)  —  rec- 
ognized by  the  laws  of  the  country ;  their  dress  and  education 
being  determined  by  law,  the  better  to  fix  the  distinction.  In 
different  parts  of  Europe,  at  the  present  day,  if  not  the  same, 
the  distinction  among  the  people  is  similar,  only  on  a  modified, 
and  in-  some  kingdoms,  probably  more  tolerant  or  deceptive 
policy. 

In  the  United  States  our  degradation  being  once  —  as  it  has  in 
a  hundred  instances  been  done  —  legally  determined,  our  color 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  331 

is  sufficient,  independently  of  costume,  education,  or  other  dis- 
tinguishing marks,  to  keep  up  that  distinction. 

In  Europe  when  an  inferior  is  elevated  to  the  rank  of  equality 
with  the  superior  class,  the  law  first  comes  to  his  aid,  which,  in 
its  decrees,  entirely  destroys  his  identity  as  an  inferior,  leaving 
no  trace  of  his  former  condition  visible. 

In  the  United  States,  among  the  whites,  their  color  is  made,  by 
law  and  custom,  the  mark  of  distinction  and  superiority ;  while 
the  color  of  the  blacks  is  a  badge  of  degradation,  acknowledged 
by  statute,  organic  law,  and  the  common  consent  of  the  people. 

With  this  view  of  the  case,  —  which  we  hold  to  be  correct,  — 
to  elevate  to  equality  the  degraded  subject  of  law  and  custom,  it 
can  only  be  done,  as  in  Europe,  by  an  entire  destruction  of  the 
identity  of  the  former  condition  of  the  applicant.  Even  were 
this  desirable,  which  we  by  no  means  admit,  with  the  deep-seat- 
ed prejudices  engendered  by  oppression,  with  which  we  have  to 
contend,  ages  incalculable  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  roll 
around  before  this  could  honorably  be  accomplished ;  otherwise, 
we  should  encourage,  and  at  once  commence,  an  indiscriminate 
concubinage  and  immoral  commerce  of  our  mothers,  sisters, 
wives,  and  daughters,  revolting  to  think  of,  and  a  physical  curse 
to  humanity. 

If  this  state  of  things  be  to  succeed,  then,  as  in  Egypt,  under 
the  dread  of  the  inscrutable  approach  of  the  destroying  angel,  to 
appease  the  hatred  of  our  oppressors,  as  a  license  to  the  passions 
of  every  white,  let  the  lintel  of  each  door  of  every  black  man  be 
stained  with  the  blood  of  virgin  purity  and  unsullied  matron 
fidelity.  Let  it  be  written  along  the  cornice  in  capitals,  "  The 
will  of  the  white  man  is  the  rule  of  my  household."  Remove 
the  protection  to  our  chambers  and  nurseries,  that  the  places 
once  sacred  may  henceforth  become  the  unrestrained  resort  of 
the  vagrant  and  rabble,  always  provided  that  the  licensed  com- 
missioner of  lust  shall  wear  the  indisputable  impress  of  a  white 
skin. 

•  But  we  have  fully  discovered  and  comprehended  the  great 
political  disease  with  which  we  are  affected,  the  cause  of  its  ori- 
gin and  continuance ;  and  what  is  now  left  for  us  to  do  is  to  dis- 
cover and  apply  a  sovereign  remedy,  a  healing  balm  to  a  sorely 


332  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

diseased  body  —  a  wrecked  but  not  entirely  shattered  system. 
We  propose  for  this  disease  a  remedy.  That  remedy  is  emigra- 
tion. This  emigration  should  be  well  advised,  and  like  remedies 
applied  to  remove  the  disease  from  the  physical  system  of  man, 
skilfully  and  carefully  applied,  within  the  proper  time,  directed 
to  operate  on  that  part  of  the  system  whose  greatest  tendency 
shall  be  to  benefit  the  whole. 

Several  geographical  localities  have  been  named,  among  which 
rank  the  Canadas.  These  we  do  not  object  to  as  places  of  tem- 
porary relief,  especially  to  the  fleeing  fugitive,  —  which,  like  a 
palliative,  soothes,  for  the  time  being,  the  misery,  —  but  cannot 
commend  them  as  permanent  places  upon  which  to  fix  our  des- 
tiny, and  that  of  our  children,  who  shall  come  after  us.  But  in 
this  connection  we  would  most  earnestly  recommend  to  the  col- 
ored people  of  the  United  States  generally,  to  secure,  by  purchase, 
all  of  the  land  they  possibly  can  while  selling  at  low  rates, -un- 
der the  British  people  and  government;  as  that  time  may  come, 
when,  like  the  lands  in  the  United  States  territories  generally, 
if  not  as  in  Oregon  and  some  other  territories  and  states,  they 
may  be  prevented  entirely  from  settling  or  purchasing  them,  — 
the  preference  being  given  to  the  white  applicant. 

And  here  we  would  not  deceive  you  by  disguising  the  facts 
that,  according  to  political  tendency,  the  Canadas,  as  all  British 
America,  at  no  very  distant  day,  are  destined  to  come  into  the 
United  States. 

And  were  this  not  the  case,  the  odds  are  against  us,  because 
the  ruling  element  there,  as  in  the  United  States,  is,  and  ever 
must  be,  white ;  the  population  now  standing,  in  all  British 
America,  two  and  a  half  millions  of  whites  to  but  forty  thousand 
of  the  black  race,  or  sixty-one  and  a  fraction  whites  to  one 
black !  —  $16  difference  being  eleven  times  greater  than  in  the 
United  States,  —  so  that  colored  people  might  never  hope  for 
anything  more  than  to  exist  politically  by  mere  sufferance ;  occu- 
pying a  secondary  position  to  the  whites  of  the  Canadas.  The 
Yankees  from  this  side  of  the  lakes  are  fast  settling  in  the  Can- 
adas, infusing,  with  industrious  success,  all  the  malignity  and 
negro-hate  inseparable  from  their  very  being,  as  Christian  dem? 
ocrats  and  American  advocates  of  equality. 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  833 

Then,  to  be  successful,  our  attention  must  be  turned  in  a 
direction  towards  those  places  where  the  black  and  colored  man 
comprise,  by  population,  and  constitute  by  necessity  of  numbers, 
the  ruling  element  of  the  body  politic ;  and  where,  when  occa- 
sion shall  require  it,  the  issue  can  be  made  and  maintained  on 
this  basis ;  where  our  political  enclosure  and  national  edifice 
can  be  reared,  established,  walled,  and  proudly  defended  on  this 
great  elementary  principle  of  original  identity.  Upon  this  solid 
foundation  rests  the  fabric  of  every  substantial  political  structure 
in  the  world,  which  cannot  exist  without  it ;  and  so  soon  as  a 
people  or  nation  lose  their  original  identity,  just  so  soon  must 
that  nation  or  people  become  extinct.  Powerful  though  they 
may  have  been,  they  must  fall.  Because  the  nucleus  which 
heretofore  held  them  together,  becoming  extinct,  there  being  no 
longer  a  centre  of  attraction,  or  basis  for  a  union  of  the  parts,  a 
dissolution  must  as  naturally  ensue  as  the  result  of  the  neutrality 
of  the  basis  of  adhesion  among  the  particles  of  matter. 

This  is  the  secret  of  the  eventful  downfall  of  Egypt,  Carthage, 
Rome,  and  the  former  Grecian  states,  once  so  powerful  —  a  loss 
of  original  identity  ;  and  with  it,  a  loss  of  interest  in  maintaining 
their  fundamental  principles  of  nationality. 

This,  also,  is  the  great  secret  of  the  present  strength  of  Great 
Britain,  Russia,  the  United2 States,  and  Turkey;  and  the  endur- 
ance of  the  French  nation,  whatever  its  strength  and  power,  is 
attributable  only  to  their  identity  as  Frenchmen. 

And  doubtless  the  downfall  of  Hungary,  brave  and  noble  as 
may  be  her  people,  is  mainly  to  be  attributed  to  the  want  of  iden- 
.  tity  of  origin,  and,  consequently,  a  union  of  interests  and  pur- 
pose. This  fact  it  might  not  have  been  expected  would  be  ad- 
mitted by  the  great  Sclave  in  his  thrilling  pleas  for  the  restoration 
of  Hungary,  when  asking  aid,  both  national  and  indivfdual,  to  en- 
able him  to  throw  off  the  ponderous  weight  placed  upon  their 
shoulders  by  the  House  of  Hapsburg. 

Hungary  consisted  of  three  distinct  "  races  "  —  as  they  called 
themselves  —  of  people,  all  priding  in,  and  claiming  rights  based 
on,  their  originality,  —  the  Magyars,  Celts,  and  Sclaves.  On 
the  encroachment  of  Austria,  each  one  of  these  races,  declaring 
for  nationality,  rose  up  against  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  claiming 


334  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

the  right  of  self-government,  premised  on  their  origin.  Between 
the  three  a  compromise  was  effected;  the  Magyars,  being  the 
majority,  claimed  the  precedence.  They  made  an  effort,  but  for 
the  want  of  a  unity  of  interests  —  an  identity  of  origin  —  the 
noble  Hungarians  failed.  All  know  the  result. 

Nor  is  this  the  only  important  consideration.  Were  we  con- 
tent to  remain  as  we  are,  sparsely  interspersed  among  our  white 
fellow-countrymen,  we  never  .might  be  expected  to  equal  them 
in  any  honorable  or  respectable  competition  for  a  livelihood. 
For  the  reason  that,  according  to  the  customs  and  policy  of  the 
country,  we  for  ages  would  be  kept  in  a  secondary  position, 
every  situation  of  respectability,  honor,  profit,  or  trust,  either  as 
mechanics,  clerks,  teachers,  jurors,  councilrnen,  or  legislators, 
being  filled  by  white  men,  consequently  our  energies  must  be- 
come paralyzed  or  enervated  for  the  want  of  proper  encourage- 
ment. 

This  example  upon  our  children,  and  the  colored  people  gen- 
erally, is  pernicious  and  degrading  in  the  extreme.  And  how 
could  it  otherwise  be,  when  they  see  every  place  of  respectability 
filled  and  occupied  by  the  whites,  they  pandering  to  their  vanity, 
and  existing  among  them  merely  as  a  thing  of  conveniency? 

Our  friends  in  this  and  other  countries,  anxious  for  our  eleva- 
tion, have  for  years  been  erroneously  urging  us  to  lose  our  iden- 
tity as  a  distinct  race,  declaring  that  we  were  the  same  as  other 
people ;  while  at  the  very  same  time  their  own  representative 
was  traversing  the  world,  and  propagating  the  doctrine  in  favor 
of  a  universal  Anglo-Saxon  predominance.  The  "universal 
brotherhood,"  so  ably  and  eloquently  advocated  by  that  Polyglot 
Christian  Apostle  *  of  this  doctrine,  had  established  as  its  basis 
a  universal  acknowledgment  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  rule. 

The  truth  is,  we  are  not  identical  witli  the  Anglo-Saxon,  or  any 
other  race  of  the  Caucasian  or  pure  white  type  of  the  human 
family,  and  the  sooner  we  know  and  acknowledge  this  truth  the 
better  for  ourselves  and  posterity. 

Tire  English,  French,  Irish,  German,  Italian,  Turk,  Persian, 
Greek,  Jew,  and  all  other  races,  have  their  native  or  inherent 

*  -Elihu  Burritt. 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  335 

peculiarities,  and  why  not  our  race  ?  We  are  not  willing,  there- 
fore, at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  to  be  moulded  into 
various  shapes  of  eccentricity,  to  suit  the  caprices  and  conven- 
iences of  every  kind  of  people.  We  are  not  more  suitable  to 
everybody  than  everybody  is  suitable  to  us ;  therefore,  no  more 
like  other  people  than  others  are  like  .us. 

We  have,  then,  inherent  traits,  attributes,  so  to  speak,  and 
natiyc  characteristics,  peculiar  t4>  our  race,  whether  pure  or 
mixed  blood ;  and  all  that  is  required  of  us  is  to  cultivate  these, 
and  develop  them  in  their  purity,  to  make  them  desirable  and 
emulated  by  the  rest  of  the  world. 

That  the  colored  races  have  the  highest  traits  of  civilization, 
will  not  be  disputed.  They  are  civil,  peaceable,  and  religious  to 
a  fault.  In  mathematics,  sculpture  and  architecture,  as  arts 
and  sciences,  commerce  and  internal  improvements  as  enter- 
prises, the  white  race  may  probably  excel;  but  in  languages, 
oratory,  poetry,  music,  and  painting,  as  arts  and  sciences,  and  in 
ethics,  metaphysics,  theology,  and  legal  jurisprudence*,  —  in  plain 
language,  in  the  true  principles  of  morals,  correctness  of  thought, 
religion,  and  law  or  civil  government,  there  is  no  doubt  but  the 
black  race  will  yet  instruct  the-  world. 

It  would  be  duplicity  longer  to  disguise  the  fact  that  the  great 
issue,  sooner  or  later,  upon  which  must  be  disputed  the  world's 
destiny,  will  be  a  question  of  black  and  white,  and  every  indi- 
vidual will  be  called  upon  for  his  identity  witli  one  or  the  other. 
The  blacks  and  colored  races  are  four  sixths  of  all  the  popula- 
tion of  the  world ;  and  these  people  are  fast  tending  to  a  com- 
mon cause  with  each  other.  The  white  races  are  but  one  third 
of  the  population  of  the  globe,  —  or  one  of  them  to  two  of  us,  — 
and  it  cannot  much  longer  continue  that  two  thirds  will  passive- 
ly submit  to  the  universal  domination  of  this  one  third.  And  it 
is  notorious  that  the  only  progress  made  in  territorial  domain,  in 
the  last  three  centuries,  by  the  whites,  has  been  a  usurpation 
and  encroachment  on  the  rights  and  native  soil  of  some  of  the 
colored  races. 

The  East  Indies,  Java,  Sumatra,  the  Azores,  Madeira,  Ca- 
nary, and  Cape  Verde  Islands  ;  Socotra,  Guardifui,  and  the  Isle 
of  France;  Algiers,  Tunis,  Tripoli,  Barca,  and  Egypt  in  the 


336  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  II.  DELAXY. 

North,  Sierra  Leone  in  the  West,  and  Cape  Colony  in  the  South 
of  Africa;  besides  many  other  islands  and  possessions  not  herein 
named;  Australia,  the  Ladrone  Islands,  together  with  many 
others  of  Oceanica ;  the  seizure  and  appropriation  of  a  great  por- 
tion of  the  Western  Continent,  with  all  its  islands,  were  so  many 
encroachments  of  the  whites  upon  the  rights  of  the  colored  races. 
Nor  are  they  yet  content,  hut,  intoxicated  with  the  success  of 
their  career,  the  Sandwich  Islands  are  now  marked  out  as  the 
next  booty  to  be  seized  in  the  ravages  of  their  exterminating 
crusade. 

We  regret  the  necessity  of  stating  the  fact,  but  duty  compels 
us  to  the  task,  that,  for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  the  deter- 
mined aim  of  the  whites  has  been  to  crush  the  colored  ract-s 
wherever  found.  With  a  determined  will  they  have  sought  and 
pursued  them  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
has  taken  the  lead  in  this  work  of  universal  subjugation.  But 
the  Anglo-American  stands  preeminent  for  deeds  of  injustice 
and  acts  of  oppression,  unparalleled,  perhaps,  in  the  annals  of 
modern  history. 

We  admit  the  existence  of  great  and  good  people  in  America, 
England,  France,  and  the  rest  of  Europe,  who  desire  a  unity 
of  interests  among  the  whole  human  family,  of  whatever  origin 
or  race. 

But  it  is  neither  the  moralist,  Christian,  nor  philanthropist 
whom  we  now  have  to  meet  and  combat,  but  the  politician,  the 
civil  engineer,  and  skilful  economist,  who  direct  and  control  the 
machinery  which  moves  forward,  with  mighty  impulse,  the  na- 
tions and  powers  of  the  earth.  We  must,  therefore,  if  possible, 
meet  them  on  vantage  ground,  or,  at  least,  witli  adequate  means 
for  the  conflict. 

Should  we  encounter  an  enemy  with  artillery,  a  prayer  will 
not  stay  the  cannon  shot,  neither  will  the  kind  words  nor  smiles 
of  philanthropy  shield  his  spear  from  piercing  us  through  the 
heart.  We  must"  meet  mankind,  then,  as  they  meet  us  —  pre- 
pared for  the  worst,  though  we  may  hope  for  the  best.  Our  sub- 
mission does  not  gain  for  us  an  increase  of  friends  nor  respecta- 
bility, as  the  white  race  will  only  respect  those  who  oppose  their 
usurpation,  and  acknowledge  as  equals  those  who  will  not 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  337 

submit  to  their  oppression.  This  may  be  no  new  discovery  in 
political  economy,  but  it  certainly  is  a  subject  worthy  the  con- 
sideration of  the  black  race. 

After  a  due  consideration  of  these  facts,  as  herein  recounted, 
.shall  we  stand  still  and  continue  inactive  —  the  passive  observers 
of  the  great  events  of  the  times  and  age  in  which  we  live;  sub- 
mitting indifferently  to  the  usurpation  by  the  white  race  of  every 
right  belonging  to  the  blacks?  Shall  the  last  vestige  of  an 
opportunity,  outside  of  the  continent  of  Africa,  for  the  national 
development  of  our  race,  be  permitted,  in  consequence  of  our 
slothfulness,  to  elude  our  grasp,  and  fall  into  the  possession  of 
the  whites?  This,  may  Heaven  forbid.  May  the  sturdy,  intelli- 
gent Africo-American  sons  of  the  Western  Continent  forbid. 

Longer  to  remain  inactive,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  may  be 
to  give  an  opportunity  to  despoil  us  of  every  right  and  posses- 
sion sacred  to  our  existence,  with  which  God  has  endowed  us  us 
a,  heritage  on  the  earth.  For  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
white  race  — who  numbers  but  one  of  them  to  two  of  us  — origi- 
nally located  in  Europe,  besides  possessing  all  of  that  continent, 
have  now  got  hold  of  a  large  portion  of  Asia,  Africa,  all  North 
America,  a  portion  of  South  America,  and  all  of  the  great  islands 
of  both  hemispheres,  except  Paupau,  or  New  Guinea,  inhabited 
by  negroes  and  Malays,  in  Oceanica;  the  Japanese  Islands,  pco- 
])!(d  and  ruled  by  the  Japanese  ;  Madagascar,  peopled  by  negroes, 
near  the  coast  of  Africa;  and  the  Island  of  llayti,  in  the  West 
Indies,  peopled  by  as  brave  and  noble  descendants  of  Africa  as 
they  who  laid  the  foundation  of  Thebias,  or  constructed  the 
everlasting  pyramids  and  catacombs  of  Egypt,  —  a  people  who 
have  freed  themselves  by  the  might  of  their  own  will,  the  force 
of  their  own  power,  the  unfailing  strength  of  their  own  right 
arms,  and  their  unflinching  determination  to  be  free. 

Let  us,  then,  not  survive  the  disgrace  and  ordeal  of  Almighty 
displeasure,  of  two  to  one,  witnessing  the  universal  possession 
and  control  by  the  whites  of  every  habitable  portion  of  the  earth. 
For  such  must  inevitably  be  the  case,  and  that,  too,  at  no  dis- 
tant day.  if  black  men  do  not  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity, 
by  grasping  hold  of  those  places  where  chance  is  in  their  favor, 
and  establishing  the  rights  and  power  of  the  colored  race. 
22 


338  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

We  must  make  an  issue,  create  an  event,  and  establish  for 
ourselves  a  position.  This  is  essentially  necessary  for  our 
effective  elevation  as  a  people,  in  shaping  our  national  develop- 
ment, directing  our  destiny,  and  redeeming  ourselves  as  a  race. 

If  we  but  determine  it  shall  be  so,  it  will  be  so ;  and  there  is 
nothing  under  the  sun  can  prevent  it.  We  shall  then  be  but  in 
pursuit  of  our  legitimate  claims  to  inherent  rights,  bequeathed  to 
us  by  the  will  of  Heaven  —  the  endowment  of  God,  our  common 
Parent.  A  distinguished  economist  has  truly  said,  "God  has 
implanted  in  man  an  infinite  progression  in  the  career  of  im- 
provement. A  soul  capacitated  for  improvement  ought  not  to  be 
bounded  by  a  tyrant's  landmarks."  This  sentiment  is  just  and 
true,  the  application  of  which  to  our  case  is  adapted  with  singu- 
lar fitness. 

Having  glanced  hastily  at  our  present  political  position  in  the 
world  generally,  and  the  United  States  in  particular,  —  the  fun- 
damental disadvantages  under  which  we  exist,  and  the  improba- 
bility of  ever  attaining  citizenship  and  equality  of  rights  in  this 
country,  —  we  call  your  attention  next  to  the  places  of  destina- 
tion to  which  we  shall  direct  emigration. 

The  West  Indies,  Central  and  South  America,  are  the  coun- 
tries of  our  choice,  the  advantages  of  which  shall  be  made  ap- 
parent to  your  entire  satisfaction.  Though  we  have  designated 
them  as  countries,  they  are,  in  fact,  but  one  country,  relatively 
considered,  apart  of  this,  the  Western  Continent.  As  now  politi- 
cally divided,  they  consist  of  the  following  classification,  each 
group  or  division  placed  under  its  proper  national  head :  — 


THE  FRENCH  ISLANDS. 

Square  miles.  Population  in  1840. 

Guadeloupe,                 .     675          ...  124,000 

Martinico,       ..         260     ....  119,000 

St.  Martin,  N.  part,    .15          ...  6,000 

Mariegalente,           .          90     .         .         .         .  11,500 

Deseada,     ...      25         ...  1,500 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 


239 


DANISH  ISLANDS. 

Square  miles.            Population  in  1840. 

Santa  Cruz,  . 

.80         . 

34,000 

St.  Thomas, 

50    ... 

.     15,000 

St.  John, 

.70         . 

3,000 

SWEDISH. 

St.  Bartholomew, 

.     25    . 

.      8,000 

DUTCH. 

x 

St.  Eustatia,  . 

.10         .        . 

20,000 

Curacoa, 

375     . 

.     12,000 

St.  Martin,  S.  part, 

.10         .        . 

5,000 

Saba,  . 

20     ... 

.      9,000 

VENEZUELA. 

Margarita, 

00 

16,000 

SPANISH. 

Cuba, 

43,500    . 

.  725,000 

Porto  Eico, 

.    4,000 

.      325,000 

BRITISH. 

Jamaica, 

5,520     . 

.  375,000 

Barbadoes, 

164 

.       102,000 

Trinidad, 

1,970     . 

.     45,000 

Antigua, 

108 

36,000 

Grenada  and  the 

Granadines, 

.  120     . 

.     29,000 

St.  Vincent,     . 

121 

36,000 

St.  Kitts, 

.     68     .         .     '    . 

.     24,000 

Dominica, 

275 

20,000 

St.  Lucia, 

.  275     . 

.     18,000 

Tobago,    .         .    . 

120 

14,000 

Nevis,    . 

.     20     . 

.     12,000 

Montserrat, 

47 

8,000 

Tortola, 

.     20     . 

.      7,000 

340  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

BRITISH.  (Continued.) 

Square  miles.  Population  in  1840. 

Barbuda,    ...        72          ...  0,000 

Anguilla,        .         ...     90  .        .        .  .      3,000 

Bahamas,    .        .        .  4,440         .        .        .  18,000 

Bermudas,      .         .         .    20  .         .        .  .     10,000 

HAYTIEN  NATION. 
Hayti,       ...        000         ...      800,000 

In  addition  to  these  there  are  a  number  of  smaller  islands,  be- 
longing to  the  Little  Antilles,  the  area  and  population  of  which 
are  not  known,  many  of  them  being  unpopulated. 

These  islands,  in  the  aggregate,  form  an  area  —  allowing 
40,000  square  miles  to  Hayti  and  her  adjunct  islands,  and  some- 
thing for  those  the  statistics  of  which  are  unknown  —  of  about 
103,000,  or  equal  in  extent  to  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  little  less  than  the  United  King- 
dom of  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  the  principality  of 
Wales. 

The  population  being,  on  the  above  date,  1840,  3,115,000 
(three  millions  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand),  and  allowing 
an  increase  of  ten  per  cent,  in  ten  years,  on  the  entire  population, 
there  are  now  3,250,000  (three  millions  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand)  inhabitants,  who  comprise  the  people  of  these  islands. 

CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

Population  in  1840. 

Guatemala, 800,000 

San  Salvador, 350,000 

Honduras, 250,000 

Costa  Rica, 150,000 

Nicaragua, •  250,000 

These  consist  of  five  states,  as  shown  in  the  above  statistics,  the 
united  population  of  which,  in  1840,  amounted  to  1,800,000  (one 
million  eight  hundred  thousand)  inhabitants.  The  number  at 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  341 

present  being  estimated  at  2,500,000  (two  and  a  half  millions), 
shows  in  thirteen  years,  700,000  (seven  hundred  thousand),  be- 
ing one  third  and  one  eighteenth  of  an  increase  in  population. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Square  miles.  Population  in  1840. 

New  Grenada,         .     450,000  .        .        .  1,687,000 

Venezuela,  .        .        420,000  .        .        .          900,000 

Ecuador,         .        .     280,000  .        .        .      600,000 

Guiana,        .         .         160,000  .         .         .           182,000 

Brazil,       .         .        3,390,000  .         .         .    5,000,000 

North  Peru,          .        300,000  .         .         .           700,000 

South  Peru,     .         .     130,000  .         .         .       800,000 

Bolivia,        .         .         450,000  .         .         .        1,716,000 

Buenos  Ayres,         .     750,000  .         .         .       700,000 

Paraguay,    .         .           88,000  .         .         .           150,000 

Uruguay,         .         .       92,000  .         .         .         75,000 

Chili,  .         .         .         170,000  .         .         .        1,500,000 

Patagonia,       .         .     370,000  .         .         .         30,000 

The  total  area  of  these  states  is  7,050,000  (seven  millions  and 
fifty  thousand)  square  miles ;  but  comparatively  little  (450,000 
square  miles)  less  than  the  whole  area  of  North  America,  in 
which  we  live. 

But  one  state  in  South  America,  Brazil,  is  an  abject  slave- 
holding  state ;  and  even  here  all  free  men  are  socially  and  politi- 
cally equal,  negroes  and  colored  men  partly  of  African  descent 
holding  offices  of  honor,  trust,  and  rank,  without  restriction.  In 
the  other  states  slavery  is  not  known,  all  the  inhabitants  enjoying 
political  equality,  restrictions  on  account  of  color  being  entirely 
unknown,  unless,  indeed,  necessity  induces  it,  when,  in  all  such 
cases,  the  preference  is  given  to  the  colored  man,  to  put  a  check 
to  European  assumption  and  insufferable  Yankee  intrusion  and 
impudence. 

The  aggregate  population  was  14,040,000  (fourteen  millions 
and  forty  thousand)  in  1840.  Allowing  for  thirteen  years  the 
same  ratio  of  increase  as  that  of  the  Central  American  states,  — 
being  one  third  (4,680,000),  — and  this  gives  at  present  a  popu- 
lation of  18,720,000  in  South  America. 


342  LIFE  or  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Add  to  this  the  population  of  the  Antilles  and  Guatemala,  and 
this  gives  a  population  in  the  West  Indies,  Central  and  South 
America,  of  24,470,000  (twenty-four  millions  four  hundred  and 
seventy  thousand)  inhabitants. 

But  one  seventh  of  this  population,  3,495,714  (three  millions 
four  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  four- 
teen) being  white,  or  of  pure  European  extraction,  there  is  a 
population  throughout  this  vast  area  of  20,974,286  (twenty  mil- 
lions nine  hundred  and  seventy-four  thousand  two  hundred  and 
eighty-six)  colored  persons,  who  constitute,  from  the  immense 
preponderance  of  their  numbers,  the  ruling  element,  as  they  ever 
must  be,  of  those  countries. 

There  are  no  influences  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  to  change 
this  most  fortunate  and  Heaven-designed  state  and  condition  of 
things.  Nature  here  has  done  her  own  work,  which  the  art  of 
knaves  nor  the  schemes  of  deep-designing  political  impostors 
can  ever  reach.  This  is  a  fixed  fact  in  the  zodiac  of  the  politi- 
cal heavens,  that  the  blacks  and  colored  people  are  the  stars 
which  must  ever  most  conspicuously  twinkle  in  the  firmament 
of  this  division  of  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

We  next  invite  your  attention  to  a  few  facts,  upon  which  we 
predicate  the  claims  of  the  black  race,  not  only  to  the  tropical 
regions  and  south  temperate  zone  of  this  hemisphere,  but  to  the 
whole  continent,  North  as  well  as  South.  And  here  we  desire  it 
distinctly  to  be  understood,  that,  in  the  selection  of  our  places 
of  destination,  we  do  not  advocate  the  southern  scheme  as 
a  concession,  nor  yet  at  the  will  nor  desire  of  our  North 
American  oppressors ;  but  as  a  policy  by  which  we  must  be 
the  greatest  political  gainers,  without  the  risk  or  possibility  of 
loss  to  ourselves.  A  gain  by  which  the  lever  of  political  eleva- 
tion and  machinery  of  national  progress  must  ever  be  held  and 
directed  by  our  own  hands  and  heads,  to  our  own  will  and  pur- 
poses, in  defiance  of  the  obstructions  which  might  be  attempted 
on  the  part  of  a  dangerous  and  deep-designing  oppressor. 

From  the  year  1492,  the  discovery  of  Hispaniola,  —  the  first 
land  discovered  by  Columbus  in  the  New  World,  —  to  1502,  the 
short  space  of  ten  years,  such  was  the  mortality  among  the  na- 
that  the  Spaniards,  then  holding  rule  there,  "  began  to 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  348 

employ  a  few  "  Africans  in  the  mines  of  the  island.  The  experi- 
ment was  effective  —  a  successful  one.  The  Indian  and  the 
African  were  enslaved  together,  when  the  Indian  sunk,  and  the 
African  stood. 

It  was  not  until  June  the  24th,  of  the  year  1498,  that  the 
continent  was  discovered  by  John  Cabot,  a  Venetian,  who  sailed 
in  August  of  the  previous  year,  1497,  from  Bristol,  under  the 
patronage  of  Henry  VII.,  King  of  England. 

In  1547,  the  short-space  of  but  fifteen  years  from  the  date  of 
their  introduction,  Carolus  V.,  King  of  Spain,  by  right  of  a 
patent,  granted  permission  to  a  number  of  persons  annually  to 
supply  the  islands  of  Hispaniola  (St.  Domingo),  Cuba,  Jamaica, 
and  Porto  Rico  with  natives  of  Africa,  to  the  number  of  four 
thousand  annually.  John  Hawkins,  a  mercenary  Englishman, 
was  the  first  person  known  to  engage  in  this  general  system  of 
debasing  our  race,  and  his  royal  mistress,  Queen  Elizabeth, 
was  engaged  with  him  in  interest,  and  shared  the  general 
profits. 

The  Africans,  on  their  advent  into  a  foreign  country,  soon  ex- 
perienced the  want  of  their  accustomed  food,  and  habits,  and 
manner  of  living. 

The  aborigines  subsisted  mainly  by  game  and  fish,  with  a  few 
patches  of  maize,  or  Indian  corn,  near  their  wigwams,  which 
were  generally  attended  by  the  women,  while  the  men  were  ab- 
sent engaged  in  the  chase,  or  at  war  with  a  hostile  tribe.  The 
vegetables,  grains,  and  fruits,  such  as  in  their  native  country 
they  had  been  accustomed  to,  were  not  to  be  obtained  among  the 
aborigines,  which  first  induced  the  African  laborer  to  cultivate 
"patches  "  of  ground  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mining  opera- 
tions, for  the  purpose  of  raising  food  for  his  own  sustenance. 

This  trait  in  their  character  was  observed  and  regarded  with 
considerable  interest;  after  which  the  Spaniards  and  other  col- 
onists, on  contracting  with  the  English  slave  dealers  —  Captain 
Hawkins  and  others  —  for  new  supplies  of  slaves,  were  careful 
to  request  that  an  adequate  quantity  of  seeds  and  plants  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  indigenous  to  the  continent  of  Africa,  especially  those 
composing  the  staple  products  of  the  natives,  be  selected  and 
brought  out  with  the  slaves  to  the  New  World.  Many  of  these 


344  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

were  cultivated  to  a  considerable  extent,  while  those  indigenous 
to  America  were  cultivated  with  great  success. 

Shortly  after  the  commencement  of  the  slave  trade  under 
Elizabeth  and  Hawkins,  the  queen  granted  a  license  to  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  to  search  for  uninhabited  lands,  and  seize  upon  all  un- 
occupied by  Christians.  Sir  Walter  discovered  the  coast  of 
North  Carolina  a*nd  Virginia,  assigning  the  name  "  Virginia  "  to 
the  whole  coast  now  comprising  the  old  Thirteen  States. 

A  feeble  colony  was  here  settled,  which  did  not  avajl  much, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  month  of  April,  1607,  that  the  first  per- 
manent settlement  was  made  in  Virginia,  under  the  patronage 
of  letters  patent  from  James  I.,  King  of  England,  to  Thomas 
Gates  and  associates.  This  was  the  first  settlement  of  North 
America,  and  thirteen  years  anterior  to  the  landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims on  Plymouth  Rock. 

And  we  shall  now  introduce  to  you,  from  acknowledged  au- 
thority, a  number  of  historical  extracts,  to  prove  that  previous 
to  the  introduction  of  the  black  race  upon  this  continent  but 
little  enterprise  of  any  kind  was  successfully  carried  on.  The 
African  or  negro  was  the  first  available  contributor  to  the  coun- 
try, and  consequently  is  by  priority  of  right,  and  politically 
should  be,  entitled  to.  the  highest  claims  of  an  eligible  citizen. 

"  No  permanent  settlement  was  effected  in  what  is  now  called 
the  United  States,  till  the  reign  of  James  the  First."  —  Ramsay's 
Hist.  U.  S.,  vol.  i.  p.  38. 

"The  month  of  April,  1607,  is  the  epoch  of  the  first  perma- 
nent settlement  on  the  coast  of  Virginia,  the  name  then  given 
to  all  that  extent  of  country  which  forms  thirteen  states." — Ib. 
p.  39. 

The  whole  coast  of  the  country  was  at  this  time  explored, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  trade  and  agriculture,  —  because  there 
were  then  no  such  enterprises  in  the  country,  the  natives  not 
producing  sufficient  of  the  necessaries  of  life  to  supply  present 
wants,  there  being  consequently  nothing  to  trade  for,  —  but,  like 
their  "Spanish  and  Portuguese  predecessors,  who  occupied  the 
islands  and  different  parts  of  South  America,  in  search  of  gold 
and  other  precious  metals. 

Trade  and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  on  coming  to  the  New 
World,  were  foreign  to  their  intention  or  designs,  consequently, 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  345 

when  failing  of  success  in  that  enterprise,  they  were  sadly  dis- 
appointed. 

"At  a  time  when  the  precious  metals  were  conceived  to  be  the 
peculiar  and  only  valuable  productions  of  the  New  World,  when 
every  mountain  was  supposed  to  contain  a  treasure  and  every 
rivulet  was  searched  for  its  golden  sands,  this  appearance  was 
fondly  considered  as  an  infallible  indication  of  the  mine.  Every 
hand  was  eager  to  dig.  .  .  . 

.  "  There  was  now,"  says  Smith,  "no  talk,  no  hope,  no  work; 
but  dig  gold,-  wash  gold,  refine  gold.  With  this  imaginary 
wealth  the  first  vessel  returning  to  England  was  loaded,  while 
the  culture  of  the  land  and  every  useful  occupation  was  totally 
neglected. 

"  The  colonists  thus  left  were  in  miserable  circumstances  for 
wajit  of  provisions.  The  remainder  of  what  they  had  brought 
with  them  was  so  small  in  quantity  as  to  be  soon  expended,  and 
so  damaged  in  course  of  a  long  voyage  as  to  be  a  source  of 
disease. 

"  .  .  .  In  their  expectation  of  getting  gold,  the  people  were 
disappointed,  the  glittering  substance  they  had  sent  to  England 
proving  to  be  a  valueless  mineral.  Smith,  on  his  return  to 
Jamestown,  found  the  colony  reduced  to  thirty-eight  persons, 
who,  in  despair,  were  preparing  to  abandon  the  country.  He 
employed  caresses,  threats,  and  even  violence  in  order  to  pre- 
vent them  from  executing  this  fatal  resolution."  —  Ramsay's 
Hist.  U.  S.,  pp.  45,  46. 

The  Pilgrims  or  Puritans,  in  November,  1620,  after  having 
organized  with  solemn  vows  to  the  defence  of  each  other,  and 
the  maintenance  of  their  civil  liberty,  made  the  harbor  of  Cape 
Cod,  landing  safely  on  "Plymouth  Rock"  December  20th, 
about  one  month  subsequently.  They  were  one  hundred  and 
one  in  number,  and  from  the  toils  and  hardships  consequent  to 
a  severe  season,  in  a  strange  country,  in  less  than  six  months 
after  their  arrival,  "  forty  persons,  nearly  one  half  of  their  original 
number,"  had  died. 

"  In  1618,  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  the  British  government 
established  a  regular  trade  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  In  the  year 
1620  negro  slaves  began  to  be  imported  into  Virginia,  a  Dutch 
ship  bringing  twenty  of  them  for  sale."  —  Sampson's  Historical 
Dictionary,  p.  348. 

It  will  be  seen  by  these  historical  reminiscences,  that  the 
Dutch  ship  landed  her  cargo  at  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  — 


346  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

the  whole  coast,  now  comprising  the  old  original  states,  then 
went  by  the  name  of  Virginia,  being  so  named  by  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  in  honor  of  his  royal  mistress  and  patron,  Elizabeth, 
the  Virgin  Queen  of  England,  under  whom  he  received  the 
patent  of  his  royal  commission,  to  seize  all  the  lands  unoccupied 
by  Christians. 

Beginning  their  preparations  in  the  slave  trade  in  1618,  just 
two^years  previous,  —  allowing  time  against  the  landing  of  the 
first  emigrants  for  successfully  carrying  out  the  project, — the 
African,  captives  and  Puritan  emigrants,  singularly  enough, 
landed  upon  the  same  section  of  the  continent  at  the  same  time 
(1G20),  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  and  the  captive  slaves  at  New 
Bedford,  but  a  few  miles,  comparatively,  south. 

"  The  country  at  this  period  was  one  vast  wilderness.  The 
continent  of  North  America  was  then  one  continued  forest*  .  .  . 
There  were  no  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  or  tame  beasts  of  any 
kind.  .  .  .  There  were  no  domestic  poultry.  .  .  .  There  were 
no  gardens,  orchards,  public  roads,  meadows,  or  cultivated 
fields.  .  .  .  They  often  burned  the  woods  that  they  could 'ad- 
vantageously plant  their  corn.  .  .  .  They  had  neither  spice, 
salt,  bread,  butter,  cheese,  nor  milk.  They  had  no  set  meals, 
but  eat  when  they  were  hungry,  or  could  find  anything  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  nature.  Very  little  of  their  food  was  derived 
from  the  earth,  except  what  it  spontaneously  produced.  .  .  . 
The  ground  was  both  their  seat  and  table.  .  .  .  Their  best  bed 
was  a  skin.  .  .  .  They  had  neither  iron,  steel,  nor  any  metallic 
instruments."  —  Ramsay's  Hist.,  pp.  39,  40.  • 

We  adduce  not  these  extracts  to  disparage  or  detract  from  the 
real  worth  of  our  brother  Indian,  —  for  we  are  identical  as  the 
subjects  of  American  wrongs,  outrages,  and  oppression,  and 
therefore  one  in  interest,  —  far  be  it  from  our  designs.  What- 
ever opinion  he  may  entertain  of  our  race,  —  in  accordance  with 
the  impressions  made  by  the  contumely  heaped  upon  us  by  our 
mutual  oppressor,  the  American  nation,  —  we  admire  his,  for 
the  many  deeds  of  heroic  and  noble  daring  with  which  the  brief 
history  of  his  liberty-loving  people  is  replete.  We  sympathize 
witli  him,  because  our  brethren  are  the  successors  of  his  in  the 
degradation  of  American  bondage ;  and  we  adduce  them  in  evi- 
dence against  the  many  aspersions  heaped  upon  the  African 
race,  avowing  that  their  inferiority  to  the  other  races,  and  unfit- 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  347 

ness  for  a  high  civil  and  social  position,  caused  them  to  be  re- 
duced to  servitude. 

For  the  purpose  of  proving  their  availability  and  eminent  fit- 
ness alone  —  not  to  say  superiority,  and  not  inferiority  —  first 
suggested  to  Europeans  the  substitution  of  African  for  that  of 
Indian  labor  in  the  mines ;  that  their  superior  adaptation  to  the 
difficulties  consequent  to  a  new  country  and  different  climate 
made  them  preferable  to  Europeans  themselves  ;  and  their  supe- 
rior skill,  industry,  and  general  thriftiness  in  all  that  they  did, 
first  suggested  to  the  colonists  the  propriety  of  turning  their  at- 
tention to  agricultural  and  other  industrial  pursuits  than  those 
of  mining  operations. 

It  is  evident,  from  what  has  herein  been  adduced,  —  the  settle- 
ment of  Captain  John  Smith  being  in  the  course  of  a  few  months 
reduced  to  thirty-eight,  and  that  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth 
from  one  hundred  and  one  to  fifty-seven  in  six  months, — that 
the  whites  nor  aborigines  were  equal  to  the  hard,  and  to  them 
insurmountable,  difficulties  which  then  stood  wide-spread  before 
them. 

An  endless  forest,  the  impenetrable  earth,  —  the  one  to  be  re- 
moved, and  the  other  to  be  excavated;  towns  and  cities  to  be 
built,  and  farms  to  be  cultivated,  —  all  presented  difficulties  too 
arduous  for  the  European  then  here,  and  entirely  unknown  to 
the  native  of  the  continent. 

At  a  period  such  as  this,  when  the  natives  themselves  had 
fallen  victims  to  the  tasks  imposed  upon  them  by  the  usurpers, 
and  the  Europeans  also  were  fast  sinking  beneath  the  influence 
and  weight  of  climate  and  hardships ;  when  food  could  not  be 
obtained,  nor  the  common  conveniences  of  life  procured ;  when 
arduous  duties  of  life  were  to  be  performed,  and  none  capable 
of  doing  them,  save  those  who  had  previously,  by  their  labors, 
not  only  in  their  own  country,  but  in  the  new,  so  proven  them- 
selves capable,  it  is  very  evident,  as  the  most  natural  conse- 
quence, the  Africans  were  resorted  to  for  the  performance  of 
every  duty  common  to  domestic  life. 

There  were  no  laborers  known  to  the  colonists,  from  Cape  Cod 
to  Cape  Lookout,  than  those  of  the  African  race.  They  entered 
at  once  into  the  mines,  extracting  therefrom  the  rich  treasures 


348  LIFE  OP  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

which  for  a  thousand  ages  lay  hidden  in  the  earth ;  when,  plun- 
ging into  the  depths  of  the  rivers,  they  culled  from  their  sandy 
bottoms,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  natives  and  surprise  of  the 
Europeans,  minerals  and  precious  stones,  which  added  to  the 
pride  and  aggrandizement  of  every  throne  in  Europe. 

And  from  their  knowledge  of  cultivation,  —  an  art  acquired  in 
their  native  Africa,  —  the  farming  interests  in  the  North  and 
planting  in  the  South  were  commenced  with  a  prospect  never 
dreamed  of  before  the  introduction  on  the  continent  of  this  most 
interesting,  unexampled,  hardy  race  of  men.  A  race  capable  of 
the  endurance  of  more  toil,  fatigue,  and  hunger  than  any  other 
branch  of  the  human  family. 

Though  pagans  for  the  most  part  in  their  own  country,  they 
required  not  to  be  taught  to  work,  and  how  to  do  it ;  but  it  was 
only  necessary  to  bid  them  work,  and  they  at  once  knew  what  to 
do,  and  how  it  should  be  done. 

Even  up  to  the  present  day,  it  is  notorious  that  in  the  planting 
states  the  blacks  themselves  are  the  only  skilful  cultivators  of 
the  soil,  the  proprietors  or  planters,  as  they  are  termed,  know- 
ing little  or  nothing  of  the  art,  save  that  which  they  learn  from 
the  African  husbandman ;  while  the  ignorant  white  overseer, 
whose  duty  is  to  see  that  the  work  is  attended  to,  knows  still 
less. 

*  Hemp,  cotton,  tobacco,  corn,  rice,  sugar,  and  many  other  im- 
portant staple  products,  are  all  the  result  of  African  skill  and 
labor  in  the  southern  states  of  this  country.  The  greater  num- 
ber of  the  mechanics  of  the  South  are  also  black  men. 

Nor  was  their  skill  as  herdsmen  inferior  to  their  other  pro- 
ficiencies, they  being  among  the  most  accomplished  trainers  of 
horses  in  the  world. 

Indeed,  to  this  class  of  men  may  be  indebted  the  entire  coun- 
try for  the  improvement  South  in  the  breed  of  horses.  And 
those  who  have  travelled  in  the  southern  states  could  not  have 
failed  to  observe  that  the  principal  trainers,  jockeys,  riders,  and 
judges  of  horses  were  men  of  African  descent. 

These  facts  alone  are  sufficient  to  establish  our  claim  to  this 
country,  as  legitimate  as  that  of  those  who  fill  the  highest  sta- 
tions by  the  suffrage  of  the  people. 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  349 

In  no  period  since  the  existence  of  the  ancient  enlightened  na- 
tions of  Africa,  have  the  prospects  of  the  black  race  been  brighter 
than  now ;  and  at  no  time  during  the  Christian  era  have  there 
been  greater  advantages  presented  for  the  advancement  of  any 
people  than  at  present  those  which  offer  to  the  black  race,  both 
in  the  eastern  and  western  hemispheres ;  our  election  being  in 
the  western. 

Despite  the  efforts  to  the  contrary,  in  the  strenuous  endeavors 
for  a  supremacy  of  race,  the  sympathies  of  the  world,  in  their  up- 
ward tendency,  are  in  favor  of  the  African  and  black  races  of  the 
earth.  To  be  available,  we  must  take  advantage  of  these  favor- 
able feelings,  and  strike  out  for  ourselves  a  bold  and  manly 
course  of  independent  action  and  position  ;  otherwise,  this  pure 
and  uncorruptcd  sympathy  will  be  reduced  to  pity  and  contempt. 

Of  the  countries  of  our  choice,  we  have  stated  that  one  prov- 
ince and  two  islands  were  slaveholding  places.  These,  as  before 
named,  arc  Brazil  in  South  America,  and  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico 
in  the  West  Indies.  There  are  a  few  other  little  islands  of 
minor  consideration :  the  Danish  three,  Swedish  one,  and  Dutch 
four. 

But  in  the  eight  last  referred  to,  slavery  is  of  such  a  mild  type, 
that,  however  objectionable  as  such,  it  is  merely  nominal. 

In  South  America  and  the  Antilles,  in  its  worst  form,  slavery 
is  a  blessing  almost,  compared  with  the  miserable  degradation 
of  the  slaves  under  our  upstart,  assumed  superiors,  the  slave- 
holders of  the  United  States. 

In  Brazil  color  is  no  badge  of  condition,  and  every  freeman, 
whatever  his  color,  is  socially  and  politically  equal,  there  being 
black  gentlemen,  of  pure  African  descent,  filling  the  highest  posi- 
tions in  state  under  the  emperor.  There  is,  also,  an  estab- 
lished law  by  the  Congress  of  Brazil,  making  the  crime  punishable 
with  death  for  the  commander  of  any  vessel  to  bring  into  the 
country  any  human  being  as  a  slave. 

The  following  law  has  passed  one  branch  of  the  General  Legis- 
lative Assembly  of  Brazil,  but  little  doubt  being  entertained  that 
it  will  find  a  like  favor  in  the  other  branch  of  that  august  general 
legislative  body :  — 

"  1.  All  children  born  after  the  date  of  this  law  shall  be  free. 


350  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

"  2.  All  those  shall  be  considered  free  who  are  born  in  other 
countries,  and  come  to  Brazil  after  this  date. 

"  3.  Every  one  who  serves  from  birth  to  seven  years  of  age, 
any  of  those  included  in  article  one,  or  who  has  to  serve  so  many 
years,  at  the  end  of  fourteen  years  shall  be  emancipated,  and  live 
as  he  chooses. 

"  4.  Every  slave  paying  for  his  liberty  a  sum  equal  to  what  he 
cost  his  master,  or  who  shall  gain  it  by  honorable  gratuitous  title, 
the  master  shall  be  obliged  to  give  him  a  free  paper,  under  the 
penalty  of  article  one  hundred  and  seventy-nine  of  the  criminal 
code. 

"  5.  Where  there  is  no  stipulated  price  or  fixed  value  of  the 
slave,  it  shall  be  determined  by  arbitrators,  one  of  which  shall 
be  the  public  promoter  of  the  town. 

"  6.  The  government  is  authorized  to  give  precise  regulations 
for  the  execution  of  this  law,  and  also  to  form  establishments 
necessary  for  taking  care  of  those  who,  born  after  this  date,  may 
be  abandoned  by  the  owners  of  slaves. 

"  7.  Opposing  laws  and  regulations  are  repealed." 

Concerning  Cuba,  there  is  an  old  established  law,  giving  any 
slave  the  right  of  a  certain  legal  tender,  which,  if  refused  by  the 
slaveholder,  he,  by  going  to  the  residence  of  any  parish  priest, 
and  making  known  the  facts,  shall  immediately  be  declared  a 
freeman,  the  priest  or  bishop  of  the  parish  or  diocese  giving  him 
his  "  freedom  papers."  The  legal  tender,  or  sum  fixed  by  law, 
we  think  does  not  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  Spanish  dollars. 
It  may  be  more. 

Until  the  Americans  intruded  themselves  into  Cuba,  contami- 
nating society  wherever  they  located,  black  and  colored  gentle- 
men and  ladies  of  rank  mingled  indiscriminately  in  society. 
But  since  the  advent  of  these  negro-haters,  the  colored  people 
of  Cuba  have  been  reduced  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  level  of 
the  miserable,  degraded  position  of  the  colored  people  of  the 
United  States,  who  almost  consider  it  a  compliment  and  favor  to 
receive  the  notice  or  smiles  of  a  white. 

Can  we  be  satisfied,  in  this  enlightened  age  of  the  world, 
amid  the  advantages  which  now  present  themselves  to  us,  with 
the  degradation  and  servility  inherited  from  our  fathers  in  this 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  851 

country  ?  God  forbid.  And  we  think  the  universal  reply  will 
be,  We  will  not! 

Half  a  century  brings  about  a  mighty  change  in  the  reality  of 
existing  things  and  events  of  the  world's  history.  Fifty  years 
ago  our  fathers  lived.  For  the  most  part  they  were  sorely  op- 
pressed, debased,  ignorant,  and  incapable  of  comprehending  the 
political  relations  of  mankind  —  the  great  machinery  and  motive- 
power  by  which  the  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth  were  im- 
pelled forward.  They  knew  but  little,  and  ventured  to  do  noth- 
ing to  enhance  their  own  interests  beyond  that  which  their 
oppressors  taught  them.  They  lived  amidst  a  continual  cloud 
of  moral  obscurity ;  a  fog  of  bewilderment  and  delusion,  by 
which  they  were  of  necessity  compelled  to  confine  themselves  to 
a  limited  space  —  a  known  locality  —  lest  by  one  step  beyond 
this  they  might  have  stumbled  over  a  precipice,  ruining  them- 
selves beyond  recovery  in  the  fall. 

We  are  their  sons,  but  not  the  same  individuals ;  neither  do 
we  live  in  the  same  period  with  them.  That  which  suited  them, 
does  not  suit  us  ;  and  that  with  which  they  may  have  been  con- 
tented, will  not  satisfy  us. 

Without  education,  they  were  ignorant  of  the  world,  and  fear- 
ful of  adventure.  With  education,  we  are  conversant  with  its 
geography,  history,  and  nations,  and  delight  in  its  enterprises 
and  responsibilities.  They  once  were  held  as  slaves  ;  to  such  a 
condition  we  never  could  be  reduced.  They  were  content  with 
privileges;  we  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  rights. 
They  felt  themselves  happy  to  be  permitted  to  beg  for  rights ; 
we  demand  them  as  an  innate  inheritance..  They  considered 
themselves  favored  to  live  by  sufferance ;  we  reject  it  as  a  de- 
gradation. A  subordinate  position  was  all  they  asked  for;  we 
claim  entire  equality  or  nothing.  The  relation  of  master  and 
slave  was  innocently  acknowledged  by  them ;  we  deny  the  right 
as  such,  and  pronounce  the  relation  as  the  basest  injustice  that 
ever  scourged  the  earth  and  cursed  the  human  family.  They 
admitted  themselves  to  be  inferiors  ;  we  barely  acknowledge  the 
whites  as  equals,  perhaps  not  in  every  particular.  They  la- 
mented their  irrecoverable  fate,  and  incapacity  to  redeem  them- 
selves and  their  race.  We  rejoice  that,  as  their  sons,  it  is  our 


352  LIFE  or  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

happy  lot  and  high  mission  to  accomplish  that  which  they  de- 
sired, and  would  have  done,  but  failed  for  the  want  of  ability 
to  do. 

Let  no  intelligent  man  or  woman,  then,  among  us  be  found  at 
the  present  day,  exulting  in  the  degradation  that  our  enslaved 
parents  would  gladly  have  rid  themselves  had  they  had  the 
intelligence  and  qualifications  to  accomplish  their  designs.  Let 
none  be  found  to  shield  themselves  behind  the  plea  of  our  brother 
bondmen  in  ignorance,  that  we  know  not  what  to  do,  nor  where 
to  go.  We  are  no  longer  slaves,  as  were  our  fathers,  but  free- 
men; fully  qualified  to  meet  our  oppressors  in  every  relation 
which  belongs  to  the  elevation  of  man,  the  establishment,  sus- 
tenance, and  perpetuity  of  a  nation.  And  such  a  position,  by  the 
help  of  God  our  common  Father,  we  are  determined  to  take  and 
maintain. 

There  is-  but  one  question  presents  itself  for  our  serious  con- 
sideration, upon  which  we  must  give  a  decisive  reply  :  Will  we 
transmit,  as  an  inheritance  to  our  children,  the  blessings  of  unre- 
stricted civil  liberty,  or  shall  we  entail  upon  them,  as  our  only 
political  legacy,  the  degradation  and  oppression  left  us  by  our 
fathers  ? 

Shall  we  be  persuaded  that  we  can  live  and  prosper  nowhere 
but  under  the  authority  and  power  of  our  North  American  white 
oppressors  ?  that  this  (the  United  States)  is  the  country  most,  if 
not  the  only  one,  favorable  to  our  improvement  and  progress? 
Are  we  willing  to  admit  that  we  are  incapable  of  self-govern- 
ment, establishing  for  ourselves  such  political  privileges,  and 
making  such  internal  improvements  as  we  delight  to  enjoy,  after 
American  white  men  have  made  them  for  themselves  ? 

No !  Neither  is  it  true  that  the  United  States  is  the  country 
best  adapted  to  our  improvement.  But  that  country  is  the  best 
in  which  our  manhood  —  morally,  mentally,  and  physically  — 
can  be  best  developed  ;  in  which  we  have  an  untrammelled  right 
to  the  enjoyment  of  civil  and  religious  liberty ;  and  the  West 
Indies,  Central  and  South  America,  present  now  such  advantages, 
superiorly  preferable  to  all  other  countries. 

That  the  continent  of  America  was  designed  by  Providence  as 
a  reserved  asylum  for  the  various  oppressed  people  of  the  earth, 
of  all  races,  to  us  seems  very  apparent. 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  353 

From  the  earliest  period  after  the  discovery,  various  nations 
sent  a  representative  here,  either  as  adventurers  and  speculators, 
or  employed  laborers,  seamen,  or  soldiers,  hired  to  work  for 
their  employers.  And  among  the  earliest  and  most  numerous 
class  who  found  their  way  to  the  New  World  were  those  of  the 
African  race.  And  it  has  been  ascertained  to  our  minds,  be- 
yond a  doubt,  that  when  the  continent  was  discovered,  there 
were  found  in  the  West  Indies  and  Central  America  tribes  of 
the  black  race,  fine  looking  people,  having  the  usual  characteris- 
tics of  color  and  hair,  identifying  them  as  being  originally  of 
the  African  race ;  no  doubt,  being  a  remnant  of  the  Africans 
who,  with  the  Carthaginian  expedition,  were  adventitiously  cast 
upon  tin's  continent,  in  their  memorable  adventure  to  the  "  Great 
Island,"  after  sailing  many  miles  distant  to  the  west  of  the 
"  Pillars  of  Hercules,"  —  the  present  Straits  of  Gibraltar. 

We  would  not  be  thought  to  be  superstitious,  when  we  say, 
that  in  all  this  we  can  "  see  the  finger  of  God."  Is  it  not  worthy 
of  a  notice  here,  that  while  the  ingress  of  foreign  whites  to  this 
continent  has  been  voluntary  and  constant,  and  that  of  the  blacks 
involuntary  and  but  occasional,  yet  the  whites  in  the  southern 
part  have .  decreased  in  numbers,  degenerated  in  character,  and 
become  mentally  and  physically  enervated  and  imbecile ;  while 
the  blacks  and  colored  people  have  studiously  increased  in  num- 
bers, regenerated  in  character,  and  have  grown  mentally  and 
physically  vigorous  and  active,  developing  every  function  of  their 
manhood,  and  are  now,  in  their  elementary  character,  decidedly 
superior  to  the  white  race  ?  So,  then,  the  white  race  could  never 
successfully  occupy  the  southern  portion  of  the  continent ;  they 
must,  of  necessity,  every  generation,  be  repeo'pled  from  another 
quarter  of  the  globe.  The  fatal  error  committed  by  the  Span- 
iards, under  Pizarro,  was  the  attempt  to  exterminate  the  Incas 
and  Peruvians,  and  fill  their  places  by  European  whites.  The 
Peruvian  Indians,  a  hale,  hardy,  vigorous,  intellectual  race  of 
people,  were  succeeded  by  those  who  soon  became  idle,  vicious, 
degenerated,  and  imbecile.  But  Peru,  like  all  the  other  South 
American  states,  is  regaining  her  former  potency,  just  in  pro- 
portion as  the  European  race  decreases  among  them.  All  .the 
labor  of  the  country  is  performed  by  the  aboriginal  natives  and 
23  ' 


354  LIFE  or  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

the  blacks,  the  few  Europeans  there  being  the  merest  excres- 
cences on  the  body  politic  —  consuming  drones  in  the  social  hive. 

Had  we  no  other  claims  than  those  set  forth  in  a  foregoing 
part  of  this  address,  they  are  sufficient  to  induce  every  black  and 
colored  person  to  remain  on  this  continent,  unshaken  and  un- 
moved. 

But  the  West  Indians,  Central  and  South  Americans,  are  a 
noble  race  of  people;  generous,  sociable,  and  tractable — just 
the  people  with  whom  we  desire  to  unite ;  who  are  susceptible  of 
progress,  improvement,  and  reform  of  every  kind.  They  now 
desire  all  the  improvements  of  North  America,  but  being  justly 
jealous  of  their  rights,  they  have  no  confidence  in  the  whites  of 
the  United  States,  and  consequently  peremptorily  refuse  to  per- 
mit an  indiscriminate  settlement  among  them  of  this  class  of 
people ;  but  placing  every  confidence  in  the  black  and  colored 
people  of  North  America. 

The  example  of  the  unjust  invasion  and  forcible  seizure  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  territory  of  Mexico  is  still  fresh  in  their 
'memory ;  and  the  oppressive  disfranchisement  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  native  Mexicans,  by  the  Americans,  —  because  of  the  color 
and  race  of  the  natives,  —  will  continue  to  rankle  in  the  bosom 
of  the  people  of  those  countries,  and  prove  a  sufficient  barrier 
henceforth  against  the  inroads  of  North  American  whites  among 
them. 

Upon  the  American  continent,  then,  we  are  determined  to  re- 
main, despite  every  opposition  that  may  be  urged  against  us. 

You  will  doubtless  be  asked,  —  and  that,  too,  with  an  air  of 
seriousness,  — why,  if  desirable  to  remain  on  this  continent,  not 
be  content  to  remain  in  the  United  States.  The  objections  to 
this  —  and  potent  reasons,  too,  in  our  estimation  —  have  already 
been  clearly  shown. 

But  notwithstanding  all  this,  were  there  still  any  rational,  nay, 
even  the  most  futile  grounds  for  hope,  we  still  might  be  stupid 
enough  to  be  content  to  remain,  and  yet  through  another  period 
of  unexampled  patience  and  suffering,  continue  meekly  to  drag 
the  galling  yoke  and  clank  the  chain  of  servility  and  degrada- 
tion. But  whether  or  not  in  this  God  is  to  be  thanked  and 
Heaven  blessed,  we  are  not  permitted,  despite  our  willingness 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  355 

and  stupidity,  to  indulge  even  the  most  distant  glimmer  of  a  hope 
of  attaining  to  the  level  of  a  well-protected  slave. 

For  years  we  have  been  studiously  and  jealously  observing  the 
course  of  political  events  and  policy  on  the  part  of  this  country, 
both  in  a  national  and  individual  state  capacity,  as  pursued  to- 
wards the  colored  people.  And  he  who,  in  the  midst  of  them, 
can  live  without  observation,  is  either  excusably  ignorant,  or 
reprehensibly  deceptious  and  untrustworthy. 

We  deem  it  entirely  unnecessary  to  tax  you  with  anything  like 
the  history  of  even  one  chapter  of  the  unequalled  infamies  per- 
petrated on  the  part  of  the  various  states,  and  national  decrees, 
by  legislation,  against  us.  But  we  shall  call  your  particular 
attention  to  the  more  recent  acts  of  the  United  States ;  because, 
whatever  privileges  we  may  enjoy  in  any  individual  state,  will 
avail  nothing  when  not  recognized  as  such  by  the  United  States. 

When  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  any  country  is  fixed 
by  legal  grades  of  distinction,  this  condition  can  never  be 
changed  except  by  express  legislation.  And  it  is  the  height  of 
folly  to  expect  such  express  legislation,  except  by  the  inevitable 
force  of  some  irresistible  internal  political  pressure.  The  force 
necessary  to  this  imperative  demand  on  our  part  we  never  can 
obtain,  because  of  our  numerical  feebleness. 

Were  the  interests  of  the  common  people  identical  with  ours, 
we,  in  this,  might  succeed,  because  we,  as  a  class,  would  then  be 
numerically  the  superior.  But  this  is  not  a  question  of  the  rich 
against  the  poor,  nor  the  common  people  against  the  higher 
classes,  but  a  question  of  white  against  black  —  every  white 
person,  by  legal  right,  being  held  superior  to  a  black  or  colored 
person. 

In  Russia,  the  common  people  might  obtain  an  equality  with 
the  aristocracy,  because,  of  the  sixty-five  millions  of  her  popu- 
lation, forty-five  millions  are  serfs  or  peasants;  leaving  but 
twenty  millions  of  the  higher  classes  —  royalty,  nobility,  and  all 
included. 

The  rights  of  no  oppressed  people  have  ever  yet  been  obtained 
by  a  voluntary  act  of  justice  on  the  part  of  the  oppressors. 
Christians,  philanthropists,  and  moralists  may  preach,  argue, 
and  philosophize  as  they  may  to  the  contrary  :  facts  are  against 


356  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M>  R.  DELANY. 

them.  Voluntary  acts,  it  is  true,  which  are  in  themselves  just, 
may  sometimes  take  place  on  the  part  of  the  oppressor;  but 
these  are  always  actuated  by  the  force  of  some  outward  circum- 
stances of  self-interest  equal  to  a  compulsion. 

The  boasted  liberties  of  the  American  people  were  established 
by  a  constitution,  borrowed  from  and  modelled  after  the  British 
magnet,  charta.  And  this  great  charter  of  British  liberty,  so 
much  boasted  of  and  vaunted  as  a  model  bill  of  rights,  was 
obtained  only  by  force  and  compulsion. 

The  barons,  an  order  of  noblemen,  under  the  reign  of  King 
John,  becoming  dissatisfied  at  the  terms  submitted  to  by  their 
sovereign,  which  necessarily  brought  degradation  upon  •them- 
selves, —  terms  prescribed  by  the  insolent  Pope  Innocent  III., 
the  haughty  sovereign  Pontiff  of  Rome,  —  summoned  his  majesty 
to  meet  them  on  the  plains  of  the  memorable  meadow  of  Runny r 
mede,  where,  presenting  to  him  their  own  Bill  of  Rights  —  a 
bill  dictated  by  themselves,  and  drawn  up  by  their  own  hands  — 
at  the  unsheathed  points  of  a  thousand  glittering  swords,  they 
commanded  him,  against  his  will,  to  sign  the  extraordinary  docu- 
ment. There  was  no  alternative :  he  must  either  do  or  die. 
With  a  puerile  timidity,  he  leaned  forward  his  rather  command- 
ing but  imbecile  person,  and  with  a  trembling  hand  and  single 
dash  of  the  pen,  the  name  KING  JOHN  stood  forth  in  bold  re- 
lief, sending  more  terror  throughout  the  world  than  the  mystic 
handwriting  of  Heaven  throughout  the  dominions  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, blazing  on  the  walls  of  Babylon.  A  consternation,  not 
because  of  the  name  of  the  king,  but  because  of  the  rights  of 
others,  which  that  name  acknowledged. 

The  king,  however,  soon  became  dissatisfied,  and  determining 
on  a  revocation  of  the  act,  —  an  act  done  entirely  contrary  to  his 
will,  —  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  army  spread  fire  and  sword 
throughout  the  kingdom. 

But  the  barons,  though  compelled  to  leave  their  castles,  their 
houses  and  homes,  and  fly  for  their  lives,  could  not  be  induced 
to  undo  that  which  they  had  so  nobly  done  —  the  achievement  of 
their  rights  and  privileges.  .Hence  the  act  has  stood  throughout 
all  succeeding  time,  because  never  annulled  by  those  who 
willed  it. 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  357 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  first  great  modern  Bill  of  Rights  was 
obtained  only  by  a  force  of  arms  :  a  resistance  of  the  people 
against  the  injustice  and  intolerance  of  their  rulers.  We  say 
the  people  —  because  that  which  the  barons  demanded  for  them- 
selves, was  afterwards  extended  to  the  common  people.  Their 
only  hope  was  based  on  their  superiority  of  numbers. 

But  can  we,  in  this  country,  hope  for  as  much?  Certainly 
not.  Our  case  is  a  hopeless  one.  There  was  but  one  John, 
with  his  few  sprigs  of  adhering  royalty ;  and  but  one  heart,  at 
which  the  threatening  points  of  their  swords  were  directed  by  a 
thousand  barons ;  while  in  our  case,  there  is  but  a  handful  of 
the  oppressed,  without  a  sword  to  point,  and  twenty  millions  of 
Johns  or  Jonathans  —  as  you  please  — with  as  many  hearts,  ten- 
fold more  relentless  than  that  of  Prince  John  Lackland,  and  as 
deceptions  and  hypocritical  as  the  Italian  heart  of  Innocent  III. 

Where,  then,  is  our  hope  of  success  in  this  country?  Upon 
what  is  it  based?  Upon  what  principle  of  political  policy  and 
sagacious  discernment  do  our  political  leaders  and  acknowl- 
edged great  men  —  colored  men  we  mean — justify  themselves 
by  telling  us,  and  insisting  that  we  shall  believe  them,  and  sub- 
mit to  what  they  say  —  to  be  patient,  remain  where  we  are ;  that 
there  is  a  "  bright  prospect  and  glorious  future"  before  us  in  this 
country !  May  Heaven  open  our  eyes  from  their  Bartiraean 
obscurity. 

But  we  call  your  attention  to  another  point  of  our  political 
degradation  —  the  acts  of  state  and  general  governments. 

In  a  few  of  the  states,  as  in  New  York,  the  colored  inhabitants 
have  a  partial  privilege  of  voting  a  white  man  into  office.  This 
privilege  is  based  on  a  property  qualification  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  worth  of  real  estate.  In  others,  as  in  Ohio,  in  the 
absence  of  organic  provision,  the  privilege  is  granted  by  judicial 
decision,  based  on  a  ratio  of  blood,  of  an  admixture  of  more 
than  one  half  white ;  while  in  many  of  the  states  there  is  no 
privilege  allowed,  either  partial  or  unrestricted. 

The  policy  of  the  above-named  states  will  be  seen  and  de- 
tected at  a  glance,  which,  while  seeming  to  extend  immunities, 
is  intended  especially  for  the  object  of  degradation. 

In  the  State  of  New  York,  for  instance,  there  is  a  constitu- 


358  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

tional  distinction  created  among  colored  men,  —  almost  neces- 
sarily compelling  one  part  to  feel  superior  to  the  other,  —  while 
among  the  whites  no  such  distinctions  dare  be  known.  Also,  in 
Ohio,  there  is  a  legal  distinction  set  up  by  an  upstart  judiciary, 
creating  among  the  colored  people  a  privileged  class  by  birth ! 
All  this  must  necessarily  sever  the  cords  of  union  among  us, 
creating  almost  insurmountable  prejudices  of  the  most  stupid 
and  fatal  kind,  paralyzing  the  last  bracing  nerve  which  prom- 
ised to  give  us  strength. 

It  is  upon  this  same  principle,  and  for  the  self-same  object, 
that  the  general  government  has  long  been  endeavoring,  and  is 
at  present  knowingly  designing  to  effect  a  recognition  of  the  in- 
dependence of  the  Dominican  Republic,  while  disparagingly  re- 
fusing to  recognize  the  independence  of  the  Haytien  nation  —  a 
people  four  fold  greater  in  numbers,  wealth,  and  power.  The 
Haytiens,  it  is  pretended,  are  refused  because  they  are  negroes  ; 
while  the  Dominicans,  as  is  well  known  to  all  who  are  familiar 
with  the  geography,  history,  and  political  relations  of  that  peo- 
ple, are  identical  —  except  in  language,  they  speaking  the  Span- 
ish tongue  — -with  those  of  the  Haytiens ;  being  composed  of 
negroes  and  a  mixed  race.  The  government  may  shield  itself 
by  the  plea  that  it  is  not  familiar  with  the  origin  of  those  people. 
To  this  we  have  but  to  reply,  that  if  the  government  is  thus 
ignorant  of  the  relations  of  its  near  neighbors,  it  is  the  height 
of  presumption,  and  no  small  degree  of  assurance,  for  it  to  set 
up  itself  as  capable  of  prescribing  terms  to  the  one,  or  condi- 
tions to  the  other. 

Should  they  accomplish  their  object,  they  then  will  have  suc- 
ceeded in  forever  establishing  a  barrier  of  impassable  separation, 
by  the  creation  of  a  political  distinction  between  those  peoples, 
of  superiority  and  inferiority  of  origin  or  national  existence. 
Here,  then,  is  another  stratagem  of  this  most  determined  and 
untiring  enemy  of  our  race  —  the  government  of  the  United 
States. 

We  come  now  to  the  crowning  act  of  infamy  on  the  part  of 
the  general  government  towards  the  colored  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States  —  an  act  so  vile  in  its  nature,  that  rebellion  against 
its  demands  should  be  promptly  made  in  every  attempt  to  en- 
force its  infernal  provisions. 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  359 

In  the  history  of  national  existence,  there  is  not  to  be  found  a 
parallel  to  the  tantalizing  insult  and  aggravating  despotism  of  the 
provisions  of  Millard  Fillmore's  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  passed  hy 
the  Thirty-third  Congress  of  the  United  States,  with  the  appro- 
bation of  a  majority  of  the  American  people,  in  the  year  of  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty. 

This  bill  had  but  one  object  in  its  provisions,  which  was  fully 
accomplished  in  its  passage,  that  is,  the  reduction  of  every  col- 
ored person  in  the  United  States  —  save  those  who  carry  free 
papers  of  emancipation,  or  bills  of  sale  from  former  claimants 
or  owners  —  to  a  state  of  relative  slavery  ;  placing  each  and 
every  one  of  us  at  the  disposal  of  any  and  every  white  who 
might  choose  to  claim  us,  and  the  caprice  of  any  and  every  up- 
start knave  bearing  the  title  of  "  commissioner." 

Did  any  of  you,  fellow-countrymen,  reside  in  a  country,  the 
provisions  of  whose  laws  were  such  that  any  person  of  a  certain 
class,  who,  whenever  he,  she,  or  they  pleased,  might  come  for- 
ward, lay  a  claim  to,  make  oath  before  (it  might  be)  some  stupid 
and  heartless  person,  authorized  to  decide  in  such  cases,  and 
take,  at  their  option,  your  horse,  cow,  sheep,  house  and  lot,  or 
any  other  property,  bought  and  paid  for  by  your  own  earnings,  — 
the  result  of  your  personal  toil  and  labor,  —  would  you  be  willing, 
or  could  you  be  induced  by  any  reasoning,  however  great  the 
source  from  which  it  came,  to  remain  in  that  country?  We 
pause,  fellow-countrymen,  for  a  reply. 

If  there  be  not  one  yea,  of  how  much  more  importance,  then, 
is  your  own  personal  safety  than  that  of  property?  Of  how 
much  more  concern  is  the  safety  of  a  wife  or  husband,  than  that 
of  a  cow  or  horse ;  a  child,  than  a  sheep ;  the  destiny  of  your 
family,  to  that  of  a  house  and  lot? 

And  yet  this  is  precisely  our  condition.  Any  one  of  us,  at 
any  moment,  is  liable  to  be  claimed,  seized,  and  taken  into  cus- 
tody by  any  white,  as  his  or  her  property  —  to  be  enslaved  for 
life  —  and  there  is  no  remedy,  because  it  is  the  law  of  the  land ! 
And  we  dare  predict,  and  take  this  favorable  opportunity  to  fore- 
warn you,  fellow-countrymen,  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant, 
when  there  will  be  carried  on  by  the  white  men  of  this  nation 
an  extensive  commerce  in  the  persons  of  what  now  compose  the 


360  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELAXY. 

free  colored  people  of  the  North.  We  forewarn  you,  that  the 
general  enslavement  of  the  whole  of  this  class  of  people  is  now 
being  contemplated  by  the  whites. 

At  present,  we  are  liable  to  enslavement  at  any  moment,  pro- 
vided we  are  taken  away  from  our  homes.  But  we  dare  ven- 
ture further  to  forewarn  you,  that  the  scheme  is  in  mature  con- 
templation, and  has  even  been  mooted  in  high  places,  of  har- 
monizing the  two  discordant  political  divisions  in  the  country  by 
again  reducing  the  free  to  slave  states. 

The  completion  of  this  atrocious  scheme  only  becomes  neces- 
sary for  each  and  every  one  of  us  to  find  an  owner  and  master 
at  our  own  doors.  Let  the  general  government  but  pass  such  a 
law,  and  the  states  will  comply  as  an  act  of  harmony.  Let  the 
South  but  demand  it,  and  the  North  will  comply  as  a  duty  of 
compromise. 

If  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Massachusetts  can  be  found 
arming  their  sons  as  watch-dogs  for  Southern  slave  hunters ;  if 
the  United  States  may,  with  impunity,  garrison  with  troops  the 
court-house  of  the  freest  city  in  America ;  blockade  the  streets ; 
station  armed  ruffians  of  dragoons,  and  spiked  artillery  in  hostile 
awe  of  the  people ;  if  free,  white,  high-born  and  bred  gentlemen 
of  Boston  and  New  York  are  smitten  down  to  the  earth,*  re- 
fused an  entrance  on  professional  business  into  the  court-houses, 
until  inspected  by  a  slave  hunter  and  his  counsel,  all  to  put 
down  the  liberty  of  the  black  man,  then,  indeed,  is  there  no 
hope  for  us  in  this  country ! 


*  John  Jay,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  son  of  the  late  distinguished 
jurist,  Hon.  William  Jay,  was,  in  1852?  as  the  counsel  of  a  fugi- 
tive slave,  brutally  assaulted  and  struck  in  the  face  by  the  slave- 
catehing  agent  and  counsel,  Busteed. 

Also,  Mr.  Dana,  an  honorable  gentleman,  counsel  for  the  fugi- 
tive Burns,  one  of  the  first  literary  men  of  Boston,  was  arrested 
on  his  entrance  into  the  court-house,  and  not  permitted  to  pass 
the  guard  of  slave-catchers,  till  the  slave  agent  and  counsel, 
Loring,  together  with  the  overseer,  Suttle,  inspected  him,  and 
ordered  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  pass  in !  After  which,  in 
passing  along  the  street,  Mr.  Dana  was  ruffianly  assaulted  and 
murderously  felled  to  the  earth  by  the  minions  of  the  dastardly 
Southern  overseer. 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  361 

It  is,  fellow-countrymen,  a  fixed  fact,  as  indelible  as  the 
covenant  of  God  in  the  heavens,  that  the  colored  people  of  these 
United  States  are  the  slaves  of  any  white  person  who  may 
choose  to  claim  them  ! 

What  safety  or  guarantee  have  we  for  ourselves  or  families  ? 
Let  us,  for  a  moment,  examine  this  point. 

Supposing  some  hired  spy  of  the  slave  power  residing  in  Illi- 
nois, whom,  for  illustration,  we  shall  call  Stephen  A.,  Counsellor 
B.,  a  mercenary  hireling  of  New  York,  and  Commissioner  C.,  a 
slave  catcher  of  Pennsylvania,  should  take  umbrage  at  the  acts 
or  doings  of  any  colored  person  or  persons  in  a  free  state ;  they 
may,  with  impunity,  send  or  go  on  their  knight  errantry  to  the 
South  (as  did  a  hireling  of  the  slave  power  in  New  York  —  a 
lawyer  by  profession),  give  a  description  of  such  person  or  per- 
sons, and  an  agent  with  warrants  may  be  immediately  despatched 
to  swear  them  into  slavery  forever. 

We  tell  you,  fellow-countrymen,  any  one  of  you  here  assem- 
bled —  your  humble  committee  who  report  to  you  this  paper  — 
may,  by  the  laws  of  this  land,  be  seized,  whatever  the  circum- 
stances of  his  birth,  whether  he  descends  from  free  or  slave 
parents  —  whether  born  north  or  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line  —  and  ere  the  setting  of  another  sun,  be  speeding  his  way 
to  that  living  sepulchre  and  death-chamber  of  our  race  —  the 
curse  and  scourge  of  tliis  country  —  the  southern  part  of  the 
United  States.  This  is  not  idle  speculation,  but  living,  naked, 
undisguised  truth. 

A  member  of  your  committee  has  received  a  letter  from  a 
gentleman  of  respectability  and  standing  in  the  South,  who 
writes  to  the  following  effect.  We  copy  his  own  words  :  — 

"  There  are,  at  this  moment,  as  I  was  to-day  informed  by  Col- 
onel W.,  one  of  our  first  magistrates  in  this  city,  a  gang  of  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  vagabonds  of  poor  white  men,  who,  for 
twenty-five  dollars  a  head,  clear  of  all  expenses,  are  ready  and 
willing  to  go  to  the  North,  make  acquaintance  with  the  blacks  in 
various  places,  send  their. descriptions  to  unprincipled  slave- 
holders here,  —  for  there  are  many  of  this  kind  to  be  found 
among  the  poorer  class  of  masters,  —  and  swear  them  into 
bondage.  So  the  free  blacks,  as  well  as  fugitive  slaves,  will 
have  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  over  themselves  to  get  clear  of  this 
scheme  to  enslave  them." 


362  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

Here,  then,  you  have  but  a  paragraph  in  the  great  volume  of 
this  political  crusade  and  legislative  pirating  by  the  American 
people  over  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  colored  inhabitants 
of  the  country.  If  this  be  but  a  paragraph,  —  for  such  it  is  in 
truth,  —  what  must  be  the  contents  when  the  whole  history  is 
divulged !  Never  will  the  contents  of  this  dreadful  record  of 
crime,  corruption,  and  oppression  be  fully  revealed,  until  the 
trump  of  God  shall  proclaim  the  universal  summons  to  judg- 
ment. Then,  and  then  alone,  shall  the  whole  truth  be  acknowl- 
edged, when  the  doom  of  the  criminal  shall  be  forever  sealed. 

We  desire  not  to  be  sentimental,  but  rather  would  be  political ; 
and  therefore  call  your  attention  to  another  point  —  a  point 
already  referred  to. 

In  giving  the  statistics  of  various  countries,  and  preferences  to 
many  places  herein  mentioned,  as  points  of  destination  in  emi- 
gration, we  have  said  little  or  nothing  concerning  the  present 
governments,  the  various  state  departments,  nor  the  condition 
of  society  among  the  people. 

This  is  not  the  province  of  your  committee,  but  the  legitimate 
office  of  a  Board  of  Foreign  Commissioners,  whom  there  is  no 
doubt  will  be  created  by  the  convention,  with  provisions  and  in- 
structions to  report  thereon,  in  due  season,  of  their  mission. 

With  a  few  additional  remarks  on  the  subject  of  the  British 
Provinces  of  North  America,  we  shall  have  done  our  duty,  and 
completed,  for  the  time  being,  the  arduous,  important,  and  mo- 
mentous task  assigned  to  us. 

The  British  Provinces  of  North  America,  especially  Canada 
West,  —formerly  called  Upper  Canada,  —  in  climate,  soil,  pro- 
ductions, and  the  usual  prospects  for  internal  .improvements,  are 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  northern  part  of  the  continent. 
And  for  these  very  reasons,  aside  from  their  contiguity  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  United  States,  — and  consequent  facility  for 
the  escape  of  the  slaves  from  the  South,  —  we  certainly  should 
prefer  them  as  a  place  of  destination.  We  love  the  Canadas, 
and  admire  their  laws,  because,  as  British  Provinces,  there  is  no 
difference  known  among  the  people  —  no  distinction  of  race. 
And  we  deem  it  a  duty  to  recommend,  that  for  the  present,  as  a 
temporary  asylum,  it  is  certainly  advisable  for  every  colored 


DESTINY  OP  THE  COLORED  RACE.  363 

person,  who,  desiring  to  emigrate,  and  is  not  prepared  for  any 
other  destination,  to  locate  in  Canada  West. 

Every  advantage  on  our  part  should  be  now  taken  of  the 
opportunity  of  obtaining  LANDS,  while  they  are  to  be  had 
cheap,  and  on  the  most  easy  conditions,  from  the  government. 

Even  those  who  never  contemplate  a  removal  from  this  coun- 
try of  chains,  it  will  be  their  best,  interest  and  greatest  advantage 
to  procure  lands  in  the  Canadian  Provinces.  It  will  be  an  easy, 
profitable,  and  safe  investment,  even  should  they  never  occupy 
nor  yet  see  them.  We  shall  then  be  but  doing  what  the  whites 
in  the  United  States  have  for  years  been  engaged  in  —  securing 
unsettled  lands  in  the  territories,  previous  to  their  enhancement 
in  value,  by  the  force  of  settlement  and  progressive  neighboring 
improvements.  There  are  also  at  present  great  openings  for 
colored  people  to  enter  into  the  various  industrial  departments 
of  business  operations :  laborers,  mechanics,  teachers,  mer- 
chants, and  shop-keepers,  and  professional  men  of  every  kind. 
These  places  are  now  open,  as  much  to  the  colored  as  the  white 
man,  in  Canada,  with  little  or  no  opposition  to  his  progress ;  at 
least  in  the  character  of  prejudicial  preferences  on  account  of 
race.  And  all  of  these,  without  any  hesitancy,  do  we  most  cheer- 
fully recommend  to  the  colored  inhabitants  of  the  United  States. 

But,  our  preference  to  other  places  over  the  Canadas  has 
been  cursorily  stated  in  the  foregoing  part  of  this  paper ;  and 
since  the  writing  of  that  part,  it  would  seem  that  the  predictions 
or  apprehensions  concerning  the  Provinces  are  about  to  be  veri- 
fied by  the  British  Parliament  and  Home  Government  them- 
selves. They  have  virtually  conceded,  and  openly  expressed  it 
— Lord  Brougham  in  the  lead  —  that  the  British  Provinces  of 
North  America  must,  ere  long,  cease  to  be  a  part  of  the  British 
domain,  and  become  annexed  to  the  United  States. 

It  is  needless  —  however  much  we  may  regret  the  necessity  of 
its  acknowledgment  —  for  us  to  stop  our  ears,  shut  our  eyes, 
and  stultify  our  senses  against  the  truth  in  this  matter ;  since,  by 
so  doing,  it  does  not  alter  the  case.  Every  political  movement, 
both  in  England  and  the  United  States,  favors  such  an  issue,  and 
the  sooner  we  acknowledge  it,  the  better  it  will  be  for  our  cause, 
ourselves  individually,  and  the  destiny  of  our  people  in  this 
country. 


364  LIFE  OF  MAJOR  M.  R.  DELANY. 

These  Provinces  have  long  been  burdensome  to  the  British 
nation,  and  her  statesmen  have  long  since  discovered  and  de- 
cided as  an  indisputable  predicate  in  political  economy,  that  any 
province  as  an  independent  state,  is  more  profitable  in  a  commer- 
cial consideration  to  a  country  than  when  depending  as  one  of  its 
colonies.  As  a  child  to  the  parent,  or  an  apprentice  to  his  mas- 
ter, so  is  a  colony  to  a  state.  And  as  the  man  who  enters  into 
business  is  to  the  manufacturer  and  importer,  so  is  the  colony 
which  becomes  an  independent  state  to  the  country  from  which 
it  recedes. 

Great  Britain  is  decidedly  a  commercial  and  money-making 
nation,  and  counts  closely  on  her  commercial  relations  with  any 
country.  That  nation  or  people  which  puts  the  largest  amount 
of  money  into  her  coffers,  are  the  people  who  may*expect  to 
obtain  her  greatest  favors.  This  the  Americans  do ;  consequently 
—  and  we  candidly  ask  you  to  mark  the  prediction  —  the  British 
will  interpose  little  or  no  obstructions  to  the  Canadas,  Cuba,  or 
any  other  province  or  colony  contiguous  to  this  country,  falling 
into  the  American  Union  ;  except  only  in  such  cases  where  there 
would  be  a  compromise  of  her  honor.  And  in  the  event  of  a 
seizure  of  any  of  these,  there  would  be  no  necessity  for  such  a 
sacrifice ;  it  could  readily  be  avoided  by  diplomacy. 

Then  there  is  little  hope  for  us  on  this  continent,  short  of 
those  places  where,  by  reason  of  their  numbers,  there  is  the 
greatest  combination  of  strength  and  interests  on  the  part  of 
the  colored  race. 

We  have  ventured  to  predict  a  reduction  of  the  now  nominally 
free  into  slave  states.  Already  has  this  "  reign  of  terror  "  and 
dreadful  work  of  destruction  commenced.  We  give  you  the 
quotation  from  a  Mississippi  paper,  which  will  readily  be  ad- 
mitted as  authority  in  this  case  :  — 

"  Two  years  ago  a  law  was  passed  by  the  California  legisla- 
ture, granting  one  year  to  the  owners  of  slaves  carried  into  the 
territory  previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  to  remove 
them  beyond  the  limits  of  the  state.  Last  year  the  provision 
of  this  law  was  extended  twelve  months  longer.  We  learn  by  the 
late  California  papers  that  a  bill  has  just  passed  the  Assembly, 
by  a  vote  of  33  to  21,  continuing  the  same  law  in  force  until 
1855.  The  provisions  .of  this  bill  embraces  slaves  who  have  been 


DESTINY  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE.  365 

carried  to  California  since  the  adoption  of  her  constitution,  as 
well  as  those  who  were  there  previously.  The  large  majority 
by  which  it  passed,  and  the  opinions  advanced  during  the  discus- 
sion, indicates  a  more  favorable  state  of  sentiment  in  regard  to 
the  rights  of  slaveholders  in  California  than  we  supposed  ex- 
isted." —  Mississippian. 

No  one  who  is  a  general  and  intelligent  observer  of  the  poli- 
tics of  this  country,  will  after  reading  this,  doubt  for  a  moment 
the  final  result. 

At  present  there  is  a  proposition  under  consideration  in  Cali- 
fornia to  authorize  the  holding  of  a  convention  to  amend  the 
constitution  of  that  state,  which  doubtless*  will  be  carried  into 
effect ;  when  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  clause  will  be  inserted, 
granting  the  right  to  hold  slaves  at  discretion  in  the  state.  This 
being  done,  it  will  meet  with  general  favor  throughout  the  coun- 
try by  the  American  people,  and  the  'policy  be  adopted  on  the 
state's  rights  principle.  This  alone  is  necessary,  in  addition  to 
the  insufferable  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and  the  recent  nefarious 
Nebraska  Bill,  —  which  is  based  upon  this  very  boasted  Ameri- 
can policy  of  the  state's  rights  principle,  —  to  reduce  the  free  to 
slave  states,  without  a  murmur  from  the  people.  And  did  not 
the  Nebraska  Bill  disrespect  the  feelings  and  infringe  upon  the 
political  rights  of  Northern  white  people,  its  adoption  would  be 
hailed  with  loud  shouts  of  approbation,  from  Portland,  Maine, 
to  San  Francisco. 

That,  then,  which  is  left  for  us  to  do,  is  to  secure  our  liberty; 
a  position  which  shall  fully  warrant  us  against  the  liability  of 
such  monstrous  political  crusades  and  riotous  invasions  of  our 
rights.  Nothing  less  than  a  national  indemnity,  indelibly  fixed  by 
virtue  of  our  own  sovereign  potency,  will  satisfy  us  as  a  redress 
of  grievances  for  the.  unparalleled  wrongs,  undisguised  imposi- 
tions, and  unmitigated  oppression  which  we  have  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  this  American  people. 

And  what  wise  politician  would  otherwise  conclude  and  deter- 
mine ?  None,  we  dare  say.  And  a  people  who  are  incapable  of 
this  discernment  and  precaution  are  incapable  of  self-govern- 
ment, and  incompetent  to  direct  their  own  political  destiny. 
For  our  own  part,  we  spurn  to  treat  for  liberty  on  any  other 
terms  or  conditions. 


366  LIFE  OF  MAJOK  M.  R.  DELANY. 

It  may  not  be  inapplicable,  in  this  particular  place,  to  quote, 
from  high  authority,  language  which  has  fallen  under  our  notice 
since  this  report  has  been  under  our  consideration.  The  quota- 
tion is  worth  nothing,  except  to  show  that  the  position  assumed 
by  us  is  a  natural  one,  which  constitutes  the  essential  basis  of 
self-protection. 

Said  Earl  Aberdeen  recently,  in  the  British  House  of  Lords, 
when  referring  to  the  great  question  which  is  now  agitating 
Europe,  "  One  thing  alone  is  certain,  that  the  only  way  to  ob- 
tain a  sure  and"  honorable  peace,  is  to  acquire  a  position  which 
may  command  it ;  and  to  gain  such  a  position,  every  nerve  and 
sinew  of  the  empire*  should  be  strained.  The  pickpocket  who 
robs  us  is  not  to  be  let  off  because  he  offers  to  restore  our 
purse ;  "  and  his  lordship  might  have  justly  added,  "  should  never 
thereafter  be  intrusted  or  confided  in." 

The  plea,  doubtless,  will  be,  as  it  already  frequently  has  been 
raised,  that  to  remove  from  the  United  States,  our  slave  breth- 
ren would  be  left  without  a  hope.  They  already  find  their  way 
in  large  companies  to  the  Canadas,  and  they  have  only  to  be 
made  sensible  that  there  is  as  much  freedom  for  them  South  as 
there  is  North ;  as  much  protection  in  Mexico  as  in  Canada ;  and 
the  fugitive  slave  will  find  it  a  much  pleasanter  journey  and 
more  easy  of  .access,  to  wend  his  way  from  Louisiana  and  Ar- 
kansas to  Mexico,  than  thousands  of  miles  through  the  slave- 
holders of  the  South  and  slave-catchers  of  the  North  to  Canada. 
Once  into  Mexico,  and  his  farther  exit  to  Central  and  South 
America  and  the  West  Indies  would  be  certain.  There  would 
be  no  obstructions  whatever.  No  miserable,  half-starved,  ser- 
vile Northern  slave-catchers  by  the  way,  waiting,  cap  in  hand, 
ready  and  willing  to  do  the  bidding  of  their  contemptible  South- 
ern masters. 

No  prisons  nor  court-houses,  as  slave-pens  and  garrisons,  to 
secure  the  fugitive  and  rendezvous  the  mercenary  gangs,  who 
are  bought  as  military  on  such  occasions.  No  perjured  mar- 
shals, bribed  commissioners,  nor  hireling  counsel,  who,  spaniel- 
like,  crouch  at  the  feet  of  Southern  slaveholders,  and  cringingly 
tremble  at  the  crack  of  their  whip.  No,  not  as  may  be  encoun- 
tered throughout  his  northern  flight,  there  are  none  of  these  to 


DESTINY  OF  THE  CCXLOKED  RACE.  367 

bo  found  or  met  with  in  his  travels  from  the  Bravo  del  Norte  to 
the  dashing  Orinoco  —  from  the  borders  of  Texas  to  the  boun- 
daries of  Peru. 

Should  anything  occur  to  prevent  a  successful  emigration  to 
the  south  —  Central,  South  America,  and  the  West  Indies  —  we 
have  no  hesitancy,  rather  than  remain  in  the  United  States,  the 
merest  subordinates  and  serviles  of  the  whites,  should  the  Cana- 
das  still  continue  separate  in  their  political  relations  from  this 
country,  to  recommend  to  the  great  body  of  our  people  to  re- 
move to  Canada  West,  where,  being  politically  equal  to  the 
whites,  physically  united  with  each  other  by  a  concentration  of 
strength ;  when  worse  comes  to  worse,  we  may  be  found,  not  as 
a  scattered,  weak,  and  impotent  people,  as  we  now  are  separated 
from  each  other  throughout  the  Union,  but  a  united  and  power- 
ful body  of  freemen,  mighty  in  politics,  and  terrible  in  any  con- 
flict which  might  ensue,  in  the  event  of  an  attempt  at  the  disturb- 
ance of  our  political  relations,  domestic  repose,  and  peaceful 
firesides. 

Now,  fellow-countrymen,  we  have  done.  Into  your  ears  have 
we  recounted  your  own  sorrows ;  before  your  own  eyes  have  we 
exhibited  your  wrongs  ;  into  your  own  hands  have  we  committed 
your  own  cause.  If  these  should  prove  inadequate  to  remedy 
this  dreadful  evil,  to  assuage  this  terrible  curse  which  has  come 
upon  us,  the  fault  will  be  yours  and  not  ours ;  since  we  have 
offered  you  a  healing  balm  for  every  sorely  aggravated  wound. 

MARTIN  R.  DELANY,  Pa. 
WILLIAM  WEBB,  Pa. 
AUGUSTUS  R.  GREEN,  Ohio. 
EDWARD  BUTLER,  Mo. 
H.  S.  DOUGLAS,  La. 
A.  DUDLEY,  Wis. 
CONAWAY  BARBOUR,  Ky. 
WM.  J.  FULLER,  R.  I. 
WM.  LAMBERT,  Mich. 
J.  THEODORE  HOLLY,  N.  Y. 
T.  A.  WHITE,  Ind. 
JOHN  A.  WARREN,  Canada. 


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